Detectives Without Borders
by XBgamer94
Summary: AU where a case sends Jane and Frost undercover far from Boston. They meet many people, one of whom is Maura Isles. Jane and Maura have an instant connection (of course). Eventual Rizzles. My first AU, hope ya like it! :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**My first time writing an AU. The idea just came to me. Hope it hasn't been done before. **

**No beta. All mistakes, if any, are mine. **

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 1

"Is there any other way we can do this?"

"I'm sorry, Rizzoli. There isn't."

"Why me and Frost?" She already knows the answer, but asks anyway.

"You two know this case better than anyone, and you've managed to infiltrate the operation. As far as we know, both of your covers are still intact. This is a chance to take down everyone involved."

Jane Rizzoli sunk back into the chair in Lt. Cavanaugh's office and let out a huff, she knew he was right. She rubbed her temple with two fingers on both sides as she closed her eyes.

"What about jurisdictional issues?"

"The authorities involved there are fully cooperating with us. They agree you two are the best for handling this and want this to end as much as we do. There's worry about possible leaks in their department so the few officers involved have kept a tight lid on things."

The brunette looked over at her partner, Barry Frost, and said "I'm in if you are."

"Hell yeah! We're a team, let's do this."

Jane smiled at the enthusiasm and support, then looked back at the Lieutenant. "Tell us what we have to do."

For the next two hours, the three of them went over where they'd be staying and who they'd be interacting with. Jane and Frost would maintain their covers, the story being too much heat from the cops in Boston and having to flee. The head of the small but dangerous organization was unknown, but since they were in deep undercover it wouldn't take them long to find out. They were trusted, it had been a year long operation so Jane and Frost weren't suspected of betrayal. The blame, luckily for the two detectives, fell on Jason Roberts. He was in charge of the drug dealings in Boston, a liaison of sorts for the real boss. Roberts and his crew were also responsible for a number of murders. Some of which were ordered to be done by this mysterious boss.

"Your flight will be Tuesday morning, you have all you need? ID's, passports..."

Both detectives simultaneously answered "Yes, sir."

Jane turned to her partner. "C'mon, Frost. We have a lot more to go over. Let's go get Korsak and grab a beer at the Dirty Robber."

Together, the two young detectives told their friend and partner what was about to happen. He wasn't happy at all, but knew it had to done if they wanted this to finally end.

"In case something goes wrong, whatever it may be, we'll find a way to contact you. Use these special coded messages. Just to be on the safe side." Jane worried about the possible departmental leaks and was being extra cautious, so she and Frost came up with this idea. She slid him a paper across the table with a lines on it. To anyone who read the part Jane or Frost would send, they'd think it was just an average conversation. Depending on which one it was, Korsak would respond accordingly. Some messages were just simple check ins, others letting them know the level of danger they might be in.

"We're staying in different apartments, across town from each other. If something does go wrong, hopefully we'll be separate. If one is in danger the other can send a message for back up without alerting the possible moles if there is one."

"I got it... When do you guys have to leave?"

"Tuesday morning." Jane replied with small frown. "You'll take care of Jo Friday for me?"

"Of course I will. You know I love having her over. Starsky and Hutch love her too." Vince waved it off, it wouldn't be any trouble for him at all.

Just as Jane downed the last of her beer, Frost nudged her. "Jane, we better go. Start packing. I need to call my mom, you gotta tell yours that you're leaving. It'll probably take you a while to pry her hands off you when she hugs you."

She let out a laugh, and smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know. That's gonna be fun to tell her. Alright, Korsak... We'll be in touch, ok? See ya soon."

The three got up and exchanged long hugs. Korsak patted each on the back and told them to come back home safely. They didn't know what would or could happen, but promised him nonetheless.

* * *

The walk up to Jane's childhood home later that night was difficult for her. She would be telling her mother that she'd be leaving for an unknown amount of time very far away. Jane didn't even have time to fully cross the porch before Angela swung the door open, excited to see her eldest child.

"Hey, Ma." Jane leaned in to hug her and kiss her on the cheek.

"Janie, you're just in time. The gnocchi will be done soon. Come in, help your brother set the table."

When she walked in, her young nephew TJ ran past making airplane noises as he held a toy plane in his hand. Tommy, Jane's youngest brother, ran after his son laughing. Jane smiled at the sight, this would be her last Sunday dinner with her family for who knows how long. Her family sometimes drove her nuts but it was moments like the one she just saw that she truly cherished and held dear.

Angela threw a dinner towel over her shoulder and walked with Jane into the kitchen. Her other brother Frankie was already in there, taking a stack of plates out of the cabinet, he put them down on the counter when he sees her.

"About time you showed up." He teases as he playfully shoves his sister.

"Shut up." Jane smirks and shoves him back. She takes the plates, Frankie following with the silverware, and sets the table.

"Hey Jane, quick game before dinner?" Frankie's eyebrows raise in excitement.

Jane didn't even have to respond, both know the answer is yes. The siblings rush outside without a word and start the game in the driveway.

The game was getting good within minutes. Nearly a half hour later Jane made an impressive shot and happily exclaims "Ooohhh! Finally!"

Frankie looks at her and smugly points out "You're still down by 10."

"I will beat you someday. Check." She bounced the ball to him, showing off a determined grin.

"You beat me in everything. Let me be better at something. Ok?" He bounced the ball back, ready for her.

She charges, and the two collide. Jane loses the ball and Frankie gets it. He dribbles away from her, both were laughing.

"Alright, alright. Here it is. Game point... Rizzoli, Rizzoli." Frankie says, playing around and getting amped up for the win.

"Take a shot!" Jane yells when he's taking forever.

He turns around to do so, but accidentally hits Jane's face with his elbow. Frankie cut his celebration short when he sees she's holding her nose.

"You alright?"

Jane leans her head backs and responds with a simple "Yeah."

She turns around at Frankie's request to see, and it looks bad. Blood is dripping down her face and already onto her t shirt. He makes a worried sound at the sight and says to go inside for some ice. The whole way inside he keeps telling Jane to hold her head up, then asks to see it.

"Oh that's broken." Frankie lightly pinches the bridge of her nose and she yells.

"Ow! God! Why ya gotta do that?!"

He just laughs as he brings her into the kitchen for some much needed ice. They enter the kitchen which is surprisingly empty.

As Frankie is searching for something Jane can use, she impatiently tells him "Just get something before Mom comes."

He finally finds a towel and hands it to her. She sarcastically thanks him just as Angela walks in. When she sees what's going on she immediately complains.

"On the good towel... Uh, excuse me!" She walks over and removed the towel from Jane's face and makes a sound of disgust at the sight of Jane's blood. "Aah! What happened? God!" She throws the towel in the sink and turns the water on. "How do you always manage to turn Sunday dinner into a circus every week?"

Jane looks at her mother disbelief. "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

Frankie tried to say he did it but Angela dismissed it quickly saying he just didn't mean to.

Jane gaped at her. "So this is my fault?"

"Look, I tell you all the time..." Jane knows what she's going to say next and both say it at the same time. "Don't roughhouse with him."

Angela groans loudly and Jane lets out a short laugh. She may have gotten hurt, but she'll be ok. Jane wanted to have the best time she could tonight, so she wasn't going to complain.

The conversations during dinner were always funny, so Jane decided to leave her announcement until afterwords. It may ruin the night, but there was no easy way to do it.

By the time everyone was seated at the dining room table, Jane's nose had stopped bleeding but still hurt. She ignored the pain though.

Food was passed around the table while Angela was telling everyone what her and Carla Tulluci argued about earlier.

Tommy had gotten his third paycheck from a job he's been enjoying. Luckily for him it's paying well so far. They all admired how far Tommy had come from his troubled days and is now an outstanding father.

Frankie was going to take his detective's exam soon, which made Jane sad to see that she might miss it. She'll have to congratulate him when she gets back.

Dinner flew by faster than Jane wanted to, the thought weighing heavily on her mind as she cleaned the dishes with her mother.

"Wanna tell me what's on your mind, sweetie? It seems like you've been somewhere else all night."

Jane smiled, her Ma knew her well. "I have to tell you something."

Her tone was serious, making Angela instantly worried. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I have to go out of town for a while... For a case."

"They can't send someone else?"

"I'm sorry, Ma." She shook her head in the negative.

The older Rizzoli sighed, holding in tears. "How long?"

"I don't know." She brought her into a hug, trying to comfort her. "I promise you I'll be ok.

Frankie walked in, hearing his mother upset. "Janie, what's going on?"

"Ma, why don't you go in the living room with Tommy and TJ? I'll be there in a minute."

Angela sniffled and nodded, then left the kitchen leaving Jane and Frankie alone.

"I have to go undercover again. I'm not sure for how long."

Frankie didn't bother asking about the danger, he was a cop and knew how bad things could get. He pulled her into a tight Rizzoli bear hug and in a serious whisper said "You better be careful."

"I will, little brother. While I'm gone I want you to make sure Ma holds it together. I know how she can be in a worried wreck sometimes."

"Sure thing... And sorry again about your nose."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Tonight was really good. I had fun. Felt good being around family. I'm really gonna miss everyone."

Normally Frankie would tease his big bad sister for showing signs of affection, but let it go just this once. The hug ended and the two walked into the living room where Angela was distracting herself by playing with her grandson.

Jane told Tommy next, then TJ. It was easier to explain it to the toddler. All she said was that Aunt Jane was going a vacation for a little while. He was only 3, so it didn't effect him as much as it did the adults.

The night came to an end, Jane having to leave soon. Her mother hugged her one last time, savoring it for an entire minute. She hugged the guys too and left for her apartment. When she got there, Jo Friday greeted her at the door.

"Hey, pup. Let's go for a quick walk and then get your stuff ready for Korsak's."

The little dog barked in response, happy to know she would see Korsak and his dogs.

Since she was tired, Jane only took Jo Friday up and down her block. It was enough to tire out Jo's little legs. As soon as she got back the dog scampered into her cozy bed and drifted off to sleep.

Jane went into her bedroom and started packing. Everything she needed was able to fit into one giant suitcase. Since the people she was going to likely arrest knew her and that she was in Boston, she could bring a few Boston sports teams shirts. It made her feel good knowing that she could maybe feel at home when wearing them.

She zipped up the suitcase and flopped onto her mattress, slipping under the covers. Jane closed her eyes but knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep. The detective had been undercover before, so she wasn't nervous about the danger of it at all. The only thing bothering her was the idea of getting homesick. The thought of catching the bad guys kept that at bay though.

* * *

The next day went by very slowly... filled with practically endless but necessary paperwork. Jane occasionally stopped by the Division One Cafe during breaks to see her mother, who made her bunny shaped pancakes and had coffee ready for her.

Since he was a cop, has helped on cases before, and well on his way to being a detective, Frankie was allowed in on the case. He was disappointed at first he couldn't go with Jane and Frost but it wouldn't fit with their cover that was already in place.

The whole day was spent doing paperwork, both detectives slept in the beds at BPD to save time in the morning when they'd be heading to the airport. Which was only a few short hours away.

Jane slept in the bottom bunk, while Frost slept on the bunk next to her. She looked over at him and asked "How long do you think we'll be away for?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. I hope it's not for very long. We've been over every last detail of this case... We know it inside and out. They trust us, Jane. Think about it, would it really take a while for us to find the boss? Roberts was this guy's right hand man. We were pretty high up in the ranks, so chances are the boss will have no choice but to trust us since Roberts is gone. He doesn't have anyone else."

"I guess you're right."

"Duh, I know that."

She chucked a pillow at him and said "Smartass."

Both closed their eyes with a smile on their faces.

Jane opened them again with what seemed like a second later to the sound of Cavanaugh knocking on the door.

"It's 4:30" he says, looking down at his watch.

She groaned, then put her hands over her face. The brunette stretched and said "Ugh... That was not 6 hours."

"You two are gonna have a long flight. Better stretch out while you can." Sean smiled apologetically.

"Frost, I'm gonna hit the gym. You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. Gimme a minute." He grumbles, pulling the blanket over his face, already falling back asleep.

Jane chuckles, she lets him sleep and goes to the BPD gym downstairs. She gets in a quick workout, not long but enough to sweat. As she showered it off, Jane stood under the water. Thinking about the dangerous undercover mission they're about to go on. She was confident things would go smoothly, so she was pretty calm.

Just as she went back upstairs to the bullpen, Frost came out to do the same as Jane had done.

"Better hurry, we have to be at the airport in two hours."

"I'm gonna skip the workout and just shower instead."

Jane just nods and goes to speak with Cavanaugh. He's talking on the phone in his office when she knocks.

"That was the Lieutenant in charge of the investigation there. He said it's all set up. The apartments and everything."

"Good, I don't want anything to go wrong."

They talk for an hour when Frost comes back, who was fully rested, freshly shaved, and showered.

"Jane, we gotta go if we wanna catch our flight."

Jane and Cavanaugh stood up. "Well, this is it. Good luck to the both of you. Come back in one piece, you hear?"

"We'll do our best, sir."

"Then none of us have to worry. You guys are some of the finest detectives I've ever had the pleasure to work with." Sean was still worried for them of course, they were practically family.

After saying their goodbyes, Jane and Frost went to their cars to get their bags, then took a cab to the airport. After going through security with their fake identities, having no trouble at all, the two sat in chairs waiting for their flight to be called.

Flipping mindlessly through old magazines, Jane laughed at the ridiculous things celebrities are doing. While Frost was engrossed in a magazine featuring cars and motorcycles that cost more than his annual salary, hoping he could afford one of them someday.

They were well into their third magazines when the speaker above them called for their flight number.

"Guess that's us." Frost said as he picked up his stuff, ready to move towards the gate.

"Yep... Next stop, Africa."

* * *

**I have so much planned for this new story of mine. I hope you liked the first chapter. Maura will show up soon, but I won't say any more than that. Let me know what you think so far in the reviews! **

**Since it's fanfiction, just ignore any possible laws that wouldn't let Jane and Frost go undercover in another country. No offense meant.**

**It took me forever to think of a title for some reason. I think what I came up with is kinda clever and cool. Would love to read some feedback on that too. **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Thanks for the reviews and all the follows so far! **

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Detectives Without Borders Ch. 2

"I'm starving." Jane says as she pressed a button above their heads.

"Me too. Think they got anything good on here?"

"Probably not, but we should try and eat something anyway."

The woman cheerfully informed them that were two choices, which Jane rolled her eyes at when she wasn't looking. They got the same thing, only because the other didn't sound appetizing at all. On the side, a couple snacks came with their order.

"I wanna see if getting these things open are as difficult as they say." Jane holds the small package of peanuts in her hand, flipping over to the other side to inspect it further. It looks like any other ordinary pack of peanuts to her.

"Those are just movies, Jane. They do that on purpose to make us laugh. It usually works, too."

Jane grips it with her thumbs and forefingers and tries to tear it open. Nothing... She switches to the other end to try. When that doesn't work she used her teeth. With a little too much force and growing frustration, the pack opens fast and the peanuts fly everywhere.

"Really?" Jane growled, her face conveying mixed emotions. She looks at the mess while Frost laughs hysterically beside her, clutching his stomach.

"Damn, that sucks!"

"Well let's see you try yours then." Jane raises an eyebrow, daring him.

"Alright then..." He couldn't stop the smug grin spreading across his face if he tried, sure of himself. Picking the pack up, he opened it with no problem at all within a second.

"What- How?"

Frost doesn't say anything, his satisfied smile being enough.

A little while later, the lack of sleep catches up on them. With 7 hours of the flight left, both felt it would be a good time to get some rest. Unfortunately, the seats weren't very comfortable so they had to use extra pillows.

* * *

Mild turbulence woke the sleeping passengers shortly before it was time to land. The instant Jane and Frost opened their eyes, they groaned in pain.

"Did we just sleep on rocks? What the hell did they stuff these things with?" Jane's voice was deeper and more gravelly than usual, her tiredness and discomfort obvious.

"We're definitely not flying coach on the way back." Frost stated, making a mental note to remind himself to bring that up to someone when this is over.

The landing was slightly bumpy, the touchdown caused one of the overhead compartments to open making a bag fall out. A stewardess bent over to pick it up, just a few feet from Frost.

Jane noticed her partner's fixated gaze and followed his line of sight, and shook her head with a wry grin. "Men..."

After Frost stopped ogling the stewardess, the two stood up to get their things overhead. Not many people were flying to Stad Van Hitte, especially this time of year, so it didn't take them long to get the rest of their things at baggage claim and go through customs. Neither knew the English translation of the name, or that it literally lived up to it, but were about to find out.

The undercover detectives felt the scorching temperature the moment they opened the doors leaving the airport.

"Wow... We're gonna be burnt to a crisp before we even get anywhere. I thought Boston was bad in the summer sometimes." Jane commented as a bead of sweat already slid down the side of her face. She took the phone out of her pocket and checked what the temperature was, it read 108 degrees. Temperatures were expected to go a little higher throughout the day but drop considerably by nightfall.

"Better get used to it." Frost advised as he signaled for a taxi to stop for them.

They didn't want to separate just yet, so Jane and Frost decided to go to her apartment first. They were driven through the small but crowded city, admiring each thing they passed.

Pulling up in front of the building, Jane paid the fare and both got their things from the trunk. There was an old man sitting outside reading a newspaper, looking up he saw strangers approach the front doors.

"Can I help you?" He asks, folding the paper and setting it on his lap.

"Yes, I'm the new tenant. Jane Torres. This is my friend Barry."

The man shakes their hands and introduces himself. "Walter, landlord. Been waiting for you. I have your key right here." Walter took the key out of his pocket and gave it to Jane, the tag attached had a faded number 4 on it. "Elevator is being repaired, you'll have to take the stairs."

"Thanks." Jane sighed internally at the thought having to climb three flights of stairs carrying her stuff in the grueling heat.

When they did make it up there, Jane unlocked the door and instantly looked for an air conditioner. Luckily for them, there was one.

"Yes! Please work..." She dropped her bag on the floor and went over to it immediately, turning the knob to the highest setting. Cool air made its way through the room, an instant relief. Jane stood directly in front of it letting a majority of the blast hit her face. She closed her eyes and soaked it all up. "_Ahhh_."

"It feels so good in here." Frost plopped on the couch, kicking his boots off to relax.

"Oh, well just make yourself at home." Jane teased her best friend as she sat next to him. Taking a couple water bottles out of her bag, she hands one to Frost who nods his appreciation at the gesture.

They cooled off for a few minutes before Jane wanted to see the rest of the apartment.

"Not bad, I think it's a little bigger than my place back home." Jane wanders through each room, not much in them except for the couch which was surprisingly comfy. The bed was too when she tested it out. There was even a small dresser in the bedroom. She also noted how the entire apartment looked as if it was just painted.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice. At least you won't be living in a dump while we're here. I hope my place is like this."

"I don't have much to unpack so I'll just do it later. Let's go check out your place."

Frost grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then they left together.

His apartment was pretty similar to Jane's, the only difference being the colors of the carpet and walls. Frost tossed his bag onto the bed, saving the packing for later as well.

"What should we do now?" He asked.

"We need to find Lieutenant Ballard, but we'll have to be careful about being seen with police."

"Right."

Jane looked out the window and saw an outdoor market, it was a chance to get something to eat and get noticed by the cops who were looking for them, so they went down there. All agreed it was a good idea to not contact them right away after getting off of the plane, in case it aroused suspicion. Neither knew if they were being watched and were taking precautions.

* * *

They hung around the market for about 20 minutes when Jane spotted a cop car pull over across the street. Two uniformed officers walked over, casually glancing at the fresh produce for sale. Jane softly cleared her throat to let Frost know they were there.

The taller of the two approached Jane, blatantly checking her out. He took his hand, put it on her ass and tried to smooth talk her. "Now why are you with this guy, when you can have me, huh?"

Jane grabbed his hand and twisted it so he crumbled to his knees. "Back off."

The other officer stepped in and looked as if he was going to strike Jane, so Frost moved in and punched him to the ground. The four of them wrestled until the two undercover detectives were cuffed.

"I don't know where you come from, but here it's against the law to hit cops."

Jane struggled with them the whole way to the car as people stared. "That's bullshit! You started with us!"

Frost remained silent as Jane spewed off various obscenities, but also made it difficult getting him into the back of the car. Jane threw her head back in frustration when she was in the seat.

"Unbelievable."

"Shut your mouth." The punched one sneered as he slammed the door closed.

Soon they were brought to Stad Van Hitte Police Headquarters, the one level brick built station was an impressive structure.

The arresting officers dragged Jane and Frost out of the car and led them inside. They were brought to interrogation where they sat in silence for an hour. An older man dressed in a suit came in with a folder, his stern look and towering height gave him an intimidating vibe that would most likely make people think twice about messing with him. He closed the door and sat down across the table from them, saying nothing.

Jane stared back, then smirked. "Wanna get us out of these cuffs?"

The man cracked a smile. "Sorry about that detectives. Never know who's watching." He undid their cuffs and the two of them rubbed their wrists.

"Yeah, we understand."

"Heard you two made quite a show."

"Some fists may have been thrown around..." Frost shrugged as he grinned.

"It's good to finally meet you in person, sir."

"Likewise, detectives. Listen, I'm not gonna keep you here long. We'll get right down to it, ok?" At their nods, Lt. Ballad opened the folder he brought in. "We have a list of possible suspects, but don't have anything concrete. They all have a long history of drug related arrests but have been careful the last couple years."

"Whoever they're working for now has made sure of that probably. Any suspects for this guy in charge?" Jane inquires as she scans over the information.

"Not one. Whoever it is, they're good at staying out of the spotlight."

"Why haven't we seen these at BPD?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't let that information out. Every time we thought we had a good lead, it went cold. I'm worried there's leaks. The officers I had arrest you I can personally vouch for their loyalty. They're my sons, so I know for fact they've got nothing to do with it."

"Anyone else know about us and the investigation?" Frost asks, taking a paper with a list of names and addresses on it.

"Just me, my sons, and my partner. As far as anyone else knows, I dropped the case."

"That's smart..." Jane looks over at the clock on the wall. "We've been in here for a while now. Should have the 'charges' against us dropped so we can get started on this. Frost and I will go to one of these places and check it out."

"I'll get right on it. Thank you for coming, and good luck." The lieutenant stands and gathers the papers together and leaves.

Ballard's two sons come back in shortly after to release them from custody.

The shorter one introduces himself first. "I'm Trevor, that's James."

"Good to meet you. Sorry about hitting you earlier."

"It's ok, nice right cross though man. When this is all done with we gotta have a sparring match sometime."

"Sounds great."

"I assume you went over all that you needed to?" James asks, looking back and forth between Jane and Frost.

"Lots to cover but we know where to start."

"Alright. Let's get you out of here."

They're escorted by James and Trevor to the front door of the building, where the act from earlier resumes.

"I'll be seeing you around sweet cheeks!" James whistles and winks at Jane, who sarcastically blows him a kiss then flips him off as she walks down the few stone steps with Frost suppressing a laugh.

* * *

They continued walking until the police station was out of sight. Jane had a pained expression on her face, and Frost asked if she was ok.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My nose is still a little sore from the other day. I'll worry about it later." Frost shrugged and the subject was dropped for now.

Lucky for them, the walk to the first address wasn't terribly far from where they were at that point. The heat was still pretty high, beating down on them as they walked up the hill on the outskirts of the city to the house that looked like it should be condemned. Hidden in the shade from the large trees surrounding it.

Jane sucked in a deep breath as her and Frost walked up the pathway. Weeds and other plants grew through the cracks in the cement, obvious that no one was properly taking care of things here.

Their guns weighed heavily in their holsters. They chose not to take them out, figuring it would show they're not going to do anything.

"Here we go." Frost raised his hand to knock but the door opened first, a man had a gun pointed at their faces. Out of nowhere, two other guys appeared at there sides, also carrying guns.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you think you're doing here?"

"We worked for Roberts. Boston. He told us to come here." Jane spoke with her hands raised, she had a calm demeanor despite the fact that her life could end within seconds.

The guy at the door noticed they didn't have their guns drawn, then lowered his gun, but the others kept theirs trained on them just in case they tried something.

"You're Torres?"

"Yeah."

He looks over at Frost. "You must be Jackson then?"

"That's me."

After a brief moment of silence, he signals for the other two to lower their weapons. "Pretty risky for you to not have your guns out. Good thing, cuz we might've shot you on the spot if you did. Come on in. We've been waiting for you. Name's Nico... Roberts told us you'd be coming here."

Both Jane and Frost held in their sighs of relief.

"Heat from the cops. Had to get out of there before we ended behind bars like him. Before everything went down he mentioned we should come here in case we needed to."

"Probably the only smart thing that dumbass ever said." Nice laughed. "How he didn't end up in prison before now is beyond me. I don't know how he ran things in Boston, obviously not very good, but you two are with us now. Got it?"

"We don't have a problem with that."

"Good, the boss will be happy you're here finally."

"We gonna meet him?" Jane questioned.

"Not yet, beautiful. You gotta do a couple jobs for us first. Prove yourself. Show you two can handle things. We need to see it for ourselves and know we aren't wasting our time. Our business took a big hit because of Jason."

"Gotta be careful, we know all about that." Jane smiled, pretending to be understanding. She looked around the room, it was filled with bags of what appeared to be cocaine and marijuana.

"We're expecting a shipment soon, be here tomorrow and we'll go over it. Take these, you're gonna need more than just the pieces you've got now." Nico grabs two handguns from a nearby table, covered in various weapons. "Noon. Don't be late."

The two men who previously aimed their guns at them silently watched them leave the house.

* * *

"That went well." Jane remarked as they had gotten back into the city.

"Yeah, but we can't let our guard down. Especially tonight. They're probably going to be watching us."

"I don't doubt that one bit. Good thing we live far from each other. Less of a chance for them to get both of us."

"True, that's why we made those arrangements... Damn, the heat is getting to me. We should stop and get some water."

Walking a little bit more they found a corner store to get something to drink. As they exited a few minutes later, both opened them right away and drank in the shade.

As Jane brought the bottle away from her mouth, she heard a woman's voice speaking to her.

"Hairline fracture of the nasal bone above the lateral nasal cartilage. It's not disfiguring."

"Excuse me?" Jane said with a slight attitude, then got a good look at the person the voice came from. She was the most beautiful woman Jane had ever seen.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm Maura Isles... I'm a doctor and I couldn't help but notice your injury. I didn't mean-"

Jane snapped out of her trance from staring into the bright hazel eyes and cut her off from apologizing more. "No, that's ok. I should be apologizing, I was kinda rude. Sorry about that."

"No worries." Maura smiled, and Jane's heart sped up.

"I'm Jane."

"And I'm her friend Barry."

Jane had completely forgotten he was there, she was so lost in Maura the whole world could be coming to an end and she wouldn't have noticed.

"Pleasure to meet you both."

"So, um..." Jane pauses, her mind going blank on something interesting to say. "You're a, doctor?" She wishes she could hit herself for not thinking of anything better.

"I am, yes. I help out at the village a few miles outside of the city."

Frost just stands there, arms crossed with a mischievous grin as he watched them exchange small talk.

"Can you pop this out for me?" She asks a minute later, pointing to her nose.

"Sure... I suppose I can. How did it happen if you don't mind me asking?"

"Rough game of basketball."

The doctor lets out a quick laugh and asks "Can't you do something safe like yoga?"

"Not really my thing." She says, still captivated by the sheer beauty of this woman she just met.

"Might hurt a little." Maura warns as she steps closer to Jane, then gently grabs her chin to move her head, missing the hitch in Jane's breath when she does. She sets her nose back into place, creating a faint popping sound.

"Ow! A _little_?"

"Put some ice on it for the next 24 hours so you don't look like Mike Tyson."

Jane grumbled in pain for a few seconds until it passed, while Frost chuckled at her who received a glare in response.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, it was no trouble." Before she could say more, Maura's phone rings and she fishes it out of her purse. "Excuse me a moment."

Maura stepped a couple feet away to take the call, but it didn't last very long so she returned to Jane and Frost quickly.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Will I see you two again?"

_'Oh I hope so'_ Jane thought, almost saying it out loud.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will."

"Wonderful. See you around Jane, Barry." Maura nods and begins to walk the other way.

Jane watched her honey blonde hair bounce perfectly on her shoulders then trailed her gaze down lower to the curves hugged tightly by her jean shorts, when Maura reached the corner and was no longer in view, she turned back to Frost. Finally noticing his smile and arched eyebrow.

"What?"

"Don't think I didn't notice the way you were flirting with her and looking at her ass just now."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She tried to deny it, but the blush gave her away.

"Whatever, that's why you're blushing." He shook his head, snickering at her face reddening.

"It's the heat."

"Ok, sure. I believe you."

"Shut up."

"Will do." He winks, getting in one last bit of teasing before letting it go. "We should be going back to our apartments. It's getting late, we'll need our rest for tomorrow."

Taking the third and final cab of the day, the detectives stopped by her place first since it was closest. Both agreed they need to get a car of their own soon.

"You gonna be ok?" She says after closing the door when she got out, leaning her head through the window to talk to Frost who was still in his seat.

"Should be fine. You know what to do in case you need something."

"Yep. See ya tomorrow."

Jane watched the car pull away and walked up to her building, politely saying hello to her landlord as she passed him.

Once she got inside, she quickly deposited her clothes into the dresser and laid on the bed, then set an alarm on her phone. Jane let herself get lost in thought until she fell asleep. From the time they got off the plane up until her meeting with the gorgeous doctor who helped fix her nose.

Maura.

Though she barely knew this woman, there was something about her that made Jane excited to see her again. Maybe she would, if all went well tomorrow.

* * *

**The translation of my made up city name means "City of Heat" in another language, which according to Google Translate is (hopefully) correct. If there is an actual city with this name in Africa, then pretend it's not this one.**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 3

Jane wakes up hearing her favorite song at 10:30 in the morning, letting her know it was time to get up. She shuffles to the bathroom to shower quickly. When she finished there was a text from Frost.

_'Just woke up. Meet you outside your place in an hour'_

The detective texts back saying that's fine and resumes getting ready. She dries her thick jet black hair with the towel and brushes out the knots which are few in number for once. It surprises her, usually her hair is a difficult atrocious mess in the morning but doesn't question it. Too much is on her mind at the moment to be worried about something as silly as tangled hair. She ties it up in a pony tail and throws on a baseball cap then goes to her mattress.

Underneath are her guns, not the most ideal place to hide them but where else would she put the weapons she thought. She considered getting a safe of some kind but hoped that her and Frost wouldn't be here long enough for that. It's not like Jane expected to be back on a plane to go back home within a day or two but even two days were long enough for them.

Lifting up her desert colored cargo pant leg, Jane slides a gun in her ankle holster. The other she puts in the holster on attached to her belt, the comforting feeling washing over was the same she felt each morning before work. Except there was a big and equally powerful piece missing.

Her badge.

Victor 825... She said it almost every day entering a crime scene, first memorizing it the moment Cavanaugh first handed the badge to her several years ago. It felt kinda empty not having it on her waist but Jane pushed the thought aside and left the apartment to wait for her partner outside.

It was hot out, but not as bad as yesterday. Cool air breezed past as Jane made her way down the steps and rounded the side of her building. She spots a bench and goes to sit when she bumps into someone.

"Excuse, I'm sorry- Maura, hey!" Jane smiles widely, happy to see her again so soon.

"Jane, I was hoping we'd see each other again. Even better we didn't have to wait very long."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." She scratches the back of her neck, unsure of what to say.

_'Cmon... Think of something to say dummy. Stop acting nervous around her.'_

Maura speaks before the brief silence becomes uncomfortable, much to Jane's relief.

"Listen, I know we just met but I was wondering if you would want to have dinner with me sometime. Are you free tonight?" Her smile is so adorable and hopeful to Jane, her heart skips a beat hearing the request.

Then her heart sinks, knowing she has to say no. "I would really love to but I can't tonight. I have... Plans. A job actually."

"Oh of course, I understand." She was about to ask what Jane does for a living when her eyes fell to the gun on her hip, they widened slightly not out of fear, but curiosity. "Are you a police officer?"

"Um..." _Crap, what do I say?_ "No, nothing that exciting. Just private security." _Phew. Not a complete lie, right? Wait, why do I feel bad if I lie to her?_

"That sounds like an interesting career." She comments, genuinely intrigued.

"It can be sometimes, yeah. Maybe I can tell you a little about it over dinner? If you still wanted to go with me that is."

Maura beamed at her, and Jane thought she was a little giddy too. "Yes, I would still love to. Here's my number, text me later?" She says, getting a small piece of paper from her purse and quickly jotting down her cell phone number.

"I promise." _How the hell can I keep that promise? I'm not here to go on dates. I'm on an important undercover operation. I need to focus. Damn it... Maybe there's a way to make this work? Ahh._

Jane takes the note from her and puts it in her wallet. Maura looks at her watch and frowns. "I hope this doesn't become a habit every time we meet. I have to go to work. I look forward to hearing from you, Jane."

As she watched Maura leave her for the second time, a warm fuzzy feeling that had nothing to with the heat built up within her.

Frost walks by Maura and the two exchange a hello, and he looks at Jane with the same grin as yesterday. Now it's even more mischievous than before.

"Not a word. Do you hear me? Not. A. Single. Word." She warns, knowing her partner all too well judging by his facial expression.

He throws his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey I didn't do anything. I'll keep my mouth shut as long as you promise to tell me all about your date when you get back from it."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. C'mon, we need to go see Nico." She gently pushes him along the sidewalk in a teasing manner towards the direction of the house they were at yesterday.

"You ready for this?" Jane asks a moment later, becoming serious now.

"As long as it's you covering my back I'm ready for anything." His confident voice was reassuring for the both of them.

* * *

They made the 10 block walk and up the hill to the abandoned looking house that lied just outside the busy streets within a half hour.

Jane and Frost approached it, the two from yesterday standing out front.

"Look Jackson, it's our favorite robots. Miss us fellas?"

One of them snorted while the other had a displeased face, but before any more was said, Nico came out.

"Torres, Jackson. Right on schedule. I like that. Get in here and have a beer." He was oddly friendly considering he was a dangerous cold blooded killing drug and arms dealer.

"Maybe just one." Jane accepts as they stepped inside and took the ice cold glass bottles handed to them. Popping off the caps, Jane and Frost tipped them towards Nico and simultaneously thanked him. Wanting to stay sharp and sober, they only took a couple sips spaced apart.

"So this is what's going down. The five of us are going to an old factory in the industrial part of town. It shut down years ago so we'll be the only ones there. We're meeting with this crew we do business with from time to time. The guy, Marco, is an asshole... but he sells good product. We'll be buying some guns off him and a few special things for the boss. At the same time, Marco wants to get some of this heroin off us, so it's gonna be a big deal. He hasn't screwed us before but just in case I want you to watch out. Think you two can handle it?"

Jane placed her barely touched beer down and looked at her partner, they nodded to one another and said "Piece of cake."

Nico laughs and takes a swig of beer and sets it down. "Alright then, let's get things packed in the SUV and get a move on."

Together, the give of them stuffed the drugs in duffel bags and put them in trunk of the large black truck. They climbed inside and created a trail of dust as they sped off the dirt covered driveway.

The further they drove through the city the more deserted it became. This side was like a ghost town. Occasionally, Jane or Frost would spot a homeless person but not much else than that. The factory, when the group finally arrived, stood tall. Years of being unattended and rain had covered it in rust. The smell of it so strong it hit their noses when they got out of the truck.

"Only grab one bag. Keep the rest in there." Nico ordered as he surveilled the area. One of the 'robots' grabbed a bag and put it at their feet.

The five of them stood, waiting. In the distance, rustling was heard as tires drove over rocks and broken glass. The vehicle came to a stop about 30 feet away, creating a safe and necessary distance. Cars doors opened and out stepped six men.

Jane and Frost again looked at one another, both worried about being outnumbered.

Nico met with who the brunette woman assumed to be Marco at the halfway point. The other men followed but not all the way, sticking pretty close to their own truck.

Something about this didn't feel right to either detective. It felt... Off. The atmosphere shifted from bad to worse by the second.

Marco patted Nico's shoulder in greeting, the usually friendly gesture was nothing but. The two talked while the rest hung back, anxiously waiting for the exchange to take place. Too impatient for needless pleasantries.

"Jackson... I don't like this." She whispered as she had a sinking feeling in the pit if her stomach, Frost most likely experiencing the same thing.

Just then, Marco pulled out a gun and shoots Nico in the abdomen. He falls to the ground immediately, but before he does... Jane, Frost, and the robots open fire on the others.

Everyone ducks and scrambles for cover in a flash. The sound of gun shots would be almost deafening to most in the close proximity they were all in, but in their lines of work they were used to it.

Jane laid flat on the ground behind an empty oil drum, a bullet rips through the flimsy rusted metal easily and narrowly misses her shoulder and head. She lowers herself to the ground as far as she could and leans away from the barrage of bullets.

_'If I move I'm dead. If I don't, I'm dead for sure.'_

She spots a more solid piece of cover and runs for it, somehow managing to not get hit. It's then she sees Nico across the way, crawling to safety with a long trail of blood behind him.

He makes it to a thick metal door leaning against a utility pole and hides behind it, popping off a few rounds from the side.

One of the men from the other side goes around to flank him, and is about to shoot when Jane hits him in the head, killing him instantly. Nico whips his head around to see the body collapse and back around to give a quick and grateful glance at Jane before emptying his clip and reloading.

The two robots were behind the truck, firing round after round. Together, they manage to take down 3 guys. The only ones that remained were Marco and one of his men.

Frost was just a few short feet away, he got one's attention and hurriedly told him "I have an idea to draw them out. Create a disctraction... Make it look like you're retreating and he might advance on us. Torres is pinned down over there, and if we hurry we might have a chance of saving Nico."

He nodded, then yelled to his partner to fall back. Frost signaled to Jane he had a plan and to stay put, who understood.

The plan worked exactly as Frost had hoped it would, Marco and the other guy spaced out and started to move forward on them.

Jane was down to her last round of ammo at that point, she took the gun out of her ankle holster and was able to hit the one in the leg, causing him to lose balance as he screamed in pain. He fell into the open and all took their shot at him, adding 8 more bullet holes to go with the leg wound. A majority hit his chest, he was a definite goner.

Marco takes one in his arm and he takes off for his truck, getting in without taking more damage and driving off as fast as possible.

* * *

Everyone was still tense, making sure the danger was really over. They heard Nico cough, then all ran over to him but were still wary and watched out in case Marco returned.

"We have to get him to a hospital." Jane says as she takes her shirt off, her white tank top quickly gets stained from the air thick with gun smoke and dirt.

"No way... We can't do that."

Jane applies pressure with the shirt, dark blood oozes onto her hands. She looks at him in disbelief. "If we don't, he's going to die."

His internal debate lasts for all of two seconds when he caves, seeing Nico struggle to breathe. "Get him in the truck. Hurry."

The other one helps Jane and Frost carry him into the backseat, who groans in pain at the movement.

Jane rests his head in her lap as Frost presses her blood soaked shirt harder, desperately trying to prevent any more blood from seeping through.

The black truck flew back into the city, going through red lights and blowing stop signs.

"What the fuck just happened back there?" The driver yells, slamming his hand down to honk the horn at another car, who wasn't going fast enough. He swerves around and cuts him off, pushing his foot down more on the accelerator. The engine roaring as he did.

"That's what I'd like to know." Jane wonders as the man possibly bleeding to death in her hands mumbles incoherently.

Frost notices his skin getting pale. "We don't have a lot of time. When the hell are we getting there?!"

Just as he says this, they pull up in front of the hospital's emergency room entrance. The driver throws it in park and jumps out to open the back door. Him and Frost take Nico and quickly drag him into the ER.

They all frantically shout for a doctor as several nurses and a doctor rush to their side with a gurney. They're all told to wait there, not allowed to go any further as they lay Nico down and push him through double doors into another room to attempt to save his life.

"Jane!" A worried voice calls for her.

She turns around to see Maura, who is stunned by the sight of Jane covered in blood.

"Oh my god... What happened? Are you ok?!" She goes to her in a hurry, heels clicking on the hard tiled floor.

"I'm fine, Maura. It's not my blood."

Relieved, she exhales a deep breath then says "I'm glad you're alright. Oh no, is it Barry? Was he hurt?"

"No, no... He's fine. Our friend isn't so lucky however."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Jane hesitates for a second but quickly thinks on her feet. "We were testing out some new weapons, for the security detail job. He went to put the gun away and shot himself by accident. We got him here as fast as we could."

"We have a very good team of doctors here, Jane. If it puts you at ease any, I can go check and see how he's doing if you want?" Maura asks, and Jane smiles at her concern.

"Yes, thank you. That would be great." Jane wasn't really worried about Nico, but wanted to use the time to talk to Frost and the others. Maura gives her a smile and goes through the same double doors the doctors and nurses had earlier.

"Thanks for that quick cover up story... I wouldn't have known what to say."

Jane turns and sees the three of them walking up to her, who apparently overheard the conversation.

"It might not be a cover up story for long."

"What do you mean, Jackson?"

"Cops are probably going to look into this right? So we need to head back to the house and make it look like Nico was shot there. We still have plenty of weapons and ammo back there don't we?" At his nod, Frost continues. "So we leave some shell casings around. Just to be safe. Put up some targets, too."

"Good idea... I'll need make a couple calls first. Derek, you don't look so good. Go get some air, and get a different car, the drugs are still in the one we came here in." He says to his partner, who looks a little green from seeing all that blood and scared he came close to dying just minutes ago.

"What the hell are we getting ourselves into?" Frost rhetorically asks when Derek and the other were gone.

"I didn't want to kill anyone. I know they were bad guys and shot at us first, still... I wish this all could've been avoided. What's gonna happen now if Nico dies?"

"I don't know... Even if he does that doesn't mean the whole case dies with him. There's still other people we can track down."

"You've got a point... Hey, he's coming." Jane saw the driver come back in the room shoving his cell phone in his pocket.

"Jackson, come with me. We left a duffel bag at the factory. I'll need you if any of Marco's guys show up. We'll only be a minute then we're gonna head over and help Derek with things, not to mention get whatever drugs are left in the house and put them in the trunk and hide it somewhere. If cops come by the house then we don't want them seeing all that. Torres, you stay here and field any questions if a cop or a doctor talks to you. Stick with the accident story. Call if you hear anything about Nico."

"Sure, no problem."

When he turns around, she grimaces at the thought of letting Frost go alone. Her partner gives her a smile of assurance and leaves.

* * *

She sat down in an uncomfortable plastic chair for a good while when Maura emerges from the other room, dressed in scrubs. Jane stands to talk to her.

"Maura, how's he doing?"

"Well, he lost nearly two liters of blood. That amount of blood loss is extremely dangerous. It's a good thing you got him here when you did, otherwise he wouldn't have made it. The lead surgeon did his best and assured me that your friend is stable now and will pull through just fine. He's very lucky he's kept himself in such good shape."

"That's great news. Thanks, Maura. Do you know how long he'll be in here or when we can see him?"

"It's too early to tell, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out." She looks Jane over, who is still covered in blood. "We have a shower you can use if you'd like to clean that off. I'm sure I could find some scrubs for you to use in the meantime."

"Sounds good."

Maura led Jane to a private room and showed her where the shower and clean set of clothes were then left to go check on her patients.

Most of the blood and dirt were on here clothes, but what was on her skin took a while to scrub off. The colors mixed together as it went down the drain, making Jane shiver despite being under hot water. No matter how long she's been on the force or how brave she had to be in certain situations, the thought of her or Frost almost getting killed was still a little scary to think about.

She washed all the blood off her and got dressed in the light blue scrubs, throwing her old clothes in a waste bin. Opening the door, Jane was surprised to see Lt. Ballard on the other side.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about your friend Nico's shooting."

"I don't have anything to say to you." She angrily replies while looking around to see if there was anyone who could be listening. No one else but the two of them were there.

"That's too bad. Come with me." He fakes an ignorant tone, taking her by the arm and gently forces her into an empty room.

"What's going on?"

"Deal gone bad. Frost and I are lucky we weren't killed."

"Where is Detective Frost now?"

"Helping out the other guys. They're worried cops are going to investigate."

"We are. I'm the one they put in charge of it."

"That's good... You can 'believe' our story then. If you come to the house later to check, go with what we say."

"You think they'll believe I fell for it?"

"For all of our sakes let's hope they do. Our covers can't be blown yet... There's still a chance we can do this." She checked her phone for any messages, a text from Frost was sent about an hour ago letting her know they got the bag from the deal site without incident and went back to the house. Jane said she had to go and left the room first while Ballard stayed behind for a few minutes then left himself to avoid suspicion.

She goes outside to get a little air and stops dead in her tracks when a car with tinted windows slows down in front of her. Jane discreetly goes for the gun on her hip only to realize that her gun was left in the truck.

The window rolls down and she fears the worst is about to happen to her.

* * *

**Whoa, things got a little intense in this chapter. And uh oh! Is something gonna happen to Jane? Let me know your predictions in the reviews! **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Loving the reviews, you guys are the sweetest. :) **

**Sorry (kinda) to leave you guys with a cliffhanger, but if something bad happens to Jane... At least she's already at the hospital right? Hahaha just kidding, well scroll down and find out what happens! A little shorter than usual but that's not gonna be a regular thing. Stick around for some surprises and twists! **

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 4

Jane doesn't have time to react as the car comes to a complete stop in front of her. She then sees who's inside... Frost and Derek.

Her partner is behind the wheel, putting it in park as Nico's thug laughs at her. "Nice outfit, Torres."

Once the shock and relief passes, anger quickly boils within her.

"You asshole! I thought that could've been Marco or somebody. What's the matter with you pulling up all slow like that? Why didn't you text me and say you were on your way back?"

"Sorry, Jane. We tried to... My phone died right before I could text you." Frost was quick to apologize, feeling badly about what went through her head just now, so she gives him a quick smile and nod.

"How's Nico doing?" Derek asks as he steps out of the car and closes the door.

"I was just about to call you guys. Doc says he's gonna be ok. They aren't sure exactly how long he'll be in there, but other than that he's fine."

"Not surprised, he's a tough bastard. Did the cops talk to you at all?"

"Yeah, I think I was pretty convincing telling the cop it was an accident."

"Good... We have some things set up back at the house just in case they come by. Oh and by the way, Jackson mentioned you two don't have cars yet. So this one is yours. There's guns and cash in the trunk for you both... The deal today may not have gone as planned but you guys did good having our backs and helped save Nico. The boss liked that a lot. Unfortunately we have to lay low for a while, at least until after whenever Nico gets out of here. Either me or Alex will call you in a few days unless something comes up sooner. It probably won't though so you'll have some time off."

Jane thanks him for everything and he goes into the hospital to see Nico by himself. She takes one look at the car and makes a tiny whistle.

"Not a bad ride."

"Yeah, maybe you can take it on your date with Maura. We've got time now."

Expecting a sarcastic remark, Frost is shocked when Jane simply smiles and says "Maybe I will."

With that, she turns around and walks back into the hospital. It doesn't take her very long to find Maura, who's reading something from a clipboard. Maura's face lights up when she sees Jane walking towards her.

"Hey, you busy?" Jane asks when she reaches her.

"Not at the moment, I'm on break. Just going over a few notes. I told your other friend when I saw him about Mr. Capello's condition and that there's nothing to worry about. He can have visitors now, as well."

"I'll pop in real quick, but I'll be back tomorrow. Are you working then too? Maybe we can hang out during your break."

"Yes, I'll be working. I'm pretty flexible when it comes to scheduling my breaks lately so whenever you come by should be fine. I actually don't have many patients for once, so I don't think it will be a problem."

"Great, want me to pick us up some coffee?"

Maura smiles at the kind offer and replies "That's very sweet, thank you."

"It's nothing... So what do you like?"

"I usually have cappuccinos, but only if there's 1% milk."

Jane laughs and jokes "Good thing you're not picky."

Maura rolls her eyes knowing Jane is only teasing. She doesn't know much about her yet, but is loving everything so far and is very eager to know more.

"I'm going to see Nico now, so I'll see you tomorrow." She smiles and waves goodbye and goes down the hall to room 109 where Nico is.

* * *

Derek is still in there while his boss and friend sleeps, so Jane only stays for a minute. When she goes back outside, Frost is sitting in the car listening to the radio with the air conditioner on full blast. This time after another Maura encounter, Jane is the one with the smug smile.

"I'll be seeing her tomorrow." She says confidently.

"Nice." Frost makes an impressed face as he fist bumps his partner. "I'm really happy for you, but how's that gonna work out with what's going on?"

"I have no idea. I've been trying to figure this out but I've got nothing. Hopefully it doesn't get too serious by the time this is done. I know I just met her but I really like her and don't wanna keep lying to her more than I have." Jane sighs, her mind racing.

"I get that. Well whatever happens, I'm sure she'll understand why you said and did certain things. She seems like a pretty good person so I wouldn't worry too much." He turns on the ignition when he finished speaking and started driving back to Jane's. On the way, they talked about what happened that day.

"Thanks for having my back at the factory, partner."

"Anytime."

"That was a decent plan you had."

"Had to think of something. How else was I gonna keep you alive? No way I'm going back to Boston _alone_ to deal with Korsak's animal videos and gas problems. Someone has to suffer with me..." He jokes, to which they share a laugh over the funny memories they have with their partner back home.

"I wonder how they're all doing. Everyone is probably worried sick. Yeah we check in with Korsak, but that's not really enough for them."

"When I called my mom on the phone she couldn't stop crying for an hour. She was so worried. Robin was too, but she managed to calm her down though."

"How have they been doing by the way? I haven't seen them since the wedding."

"Doing great. Cameron will be starting middle school soon."

"Wow, he's growing up so fast. We've only been gone a couple of days but I feel like we're missing so much."

"We'll be back soon, Jane. I know it."

Frost's reassurance was comforting for her, and for him too. They tried not to dwell on it much and temporarily got their minds off it as Frost parked in front of Jane's apartment building. Walter the landlord was outside again, waving hello when they went by.

As soon as Jane walked in, she peeked through the blinds to see if anyone was out there that didn't belong. Frost goes over and looks too, neither seeing anything suspicious.

"I didn't see anyone following us as we drove. I think both sides are lying low for a while after what went down."

"Maybe, but wouldn't this be a good time to strike? They probably think we won't be expecting it. Get us while we're down."

"It's possible, but I doubt it. Alex said we took out most, if not all, of Marco's crew. Unless he recruits a bunch of new people he can trust within a day, then I don't think anything will happen."

Jane relaxed a little knowing that, so she stepped away from the window and went to the bedroom to change. Slipping into more comfortable clothing, old sweatpants and her favorite Red Sox t-shirt that she had since she was 18, she came back in to see Frost flipping through the sports channels on her TV.

"I don't think we'll get any of our teams here." Jane remarked when she sat down next to him.

He stopped on a soccer game long enough and it piqued both their interests. One team seemed to be crushing the other, scoring left and right. Jane found herself rooting for the losing team, wanting them to make a comeback and win.

Unbelievably, her team tied it at 7 with only a minute to spare. The clock counted down, just seconds left. A player from the other team had the ball and made his way down the field, impressively dodging those attempting to steal it away. He lined up for the game winning goal, he swung his leg and launched the ball forward. It was blocked, then kicked to another player way across the field. The little black and white object soared past everyone as it made it to the player who was not yet surrounded. When the ball made it to his feet, he only had 10 seconds to score.

Both Jane and Frost, who were very much into the game especially at this point, stood up and yelled "Come on! Go!"

They cheered loudly to the TV, the clock was at 2 seconds when he kicked the ball. All was quiet... The next sound heard was a swish past fingertips and a soft thud against the net, the sound of a goal.

The winning team lifted the player up on their shoulders, screaming happily over their hard-fought and well-earned victory.

The detectives high five one another and Frost says "Never saw a soccer game get that crazy before. I don't usually watch them at home, but if they're anything like what we just saw then I'm gonna be watching a lot more often."

"Me too, I'm already thinking about how full my DVR is gonna get. It probably already is with how busy we've been the last couple weeks."

Frost notices the time and calls it a night and opens the door. Jane sees the keys on the table still and asks "Aren't you gonna take the car?"

"Nah, I'll leave it here for you. You might need it to take Maura out."

"Thanks, be careful out there. Don't forget to text me when you're at your place safely."

"You got it, partner."

With that he closes the door behind him and Jane watches from the window as he gets in a cab. About 15 minutes later, she gets the expected text that he made it back ok and will see her soon. She double checks the windows and locks on the door before going to bed herself, taking a while to fall asleep excited from the thought of seeing Maura the next day.

* * *

As soon as Jane woke she sent the usual check in message to Korsak, immediately getting the proper response.

The tall brunette rises from the bed and stretches as she makes her way to the bathroom to begin her morning routine starting with a shower.

She kills a few hours watching TV until it's time to go to the hospital again, practically bolting out the door. Jane decides to see Nico first before finding Maura. This time he's awake when she enters the room.

"Torres, didn't expect you to visit. C'mon in."

"Just wanted to check on you, make sure you're ok."

Nico shrugs and says "I'll be alright. The food sucks but what can I do?" He laughs, then grows serious. "Thanks for saving my life yesterday. You've got good aim."

"No big deal."

"The boys tell me you really helped out when it came to keeping the cops off us, good work. You and Jackson are ok by me. When I get out of this hell hole I'll be sure to give the boss a good word about you two. You both could've high tailed it out of here after yesterday but that fact that you're still here says something. Little tired so... get out of here so I can get some shut-eye."

They exchange a smirk and Jane exits the room, leaving him to rest up and her to search for Maura. The doctor's back is turned to the detective, who sneaks up and taps her on the shoulder to surprise her.

"Jane." Maura's radiant smile makes Jane go weak in the knees. "I was just thinking about you. I thought we could go to the café next door for coffee."

Jane nods yes and holds the door open for Maura, being polite and letting her lead the way. It was literally right next door to the hospital building, the small café reminding her a lot of Boston Joe's.

They sat down at a table after getting their coffee and began some small talk, wanting to get to know each other more.

"So where were you before here? I haven't seen you around and I definitely would've remembered you." Maura says, taking a sip and making Jane blush a little.

"Originally, I'm from Boston. The thing with my job is that it requires me to travel a lot."

"No kidding? I'm from Boston, too. Wow... small world. Do you have any family back home?"

Jane was surprised Maura lived in Boston too, thrilled that just maybe if things went well she would be able to see her again.

"Yeah, I do. It's just my mother and two brothers. A few friends but not many since I'm always gone. I had a dog though if that counts."

"I only have a tortoise waiting for me back home, so I like to believe pets count as friends."

"A turtle? I bet he's really interactive."

"Tortoise." Maura corrects sweetly.

"Alright, tortoise. So what about you? Any family?"

"I haven't heard from either of my parents in a while. They're quite busy with their careers and I don't speak with them often. Last I heard my mother was in Paris and my father was somewhere in Tanzania."

"I'm sorry you don't talk with them much, my mother is the complete opposite. She'll practically smother you with love. I love her to death but it can get annoying."

"She sounds sweet. I wish I had parents more involved like her."

"The grass is always greener isn't it?"

They went on to talk more about Maura's job and her move to Africa to work at the hospital and her time with Doctors Without Borders. The way Maura spouted interesting facts now and then, which Jane called Google speak, made Jane fall for her even more than wanted to admit. How passionate and caring Maura was enamored the young Italian detective. Something told her that Maura felt the same way, possibly judging how she would catch the subtle glances at Jane with a look filled with so much emotion.

They had long finished the coffee by the time they wrapped things up. Jane and Maura kept the conversation going as Jane escorted her back to work.

Maura noticed that Jane seemed to be nervous and asked if she was ok.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I was just wondering, and I know we already talked about going but... I wanted to ask if you officially. To go on a date. With me." Jane let a out a long breath and added "If that doesn't sound too lame how I asked-" she was cut off when Maura placed a light kiss on her cheek, effectively silencing her.

"I would love to go on a date with you, Jane. I think it's very sweet how you asked and not lame at all. I'll call you later when I'm done work if that's alright?"

Jane thought she would explode into a million little pieces, bursting with happiness when she felt Maura's soft lips touch her face. She managed to recover somewhat when she sputtered her answer.

"Uh... Yeah- um. Of course. Definitely ok. I'll see you later, Maur."

Jane doesn't realize she used a nickname, but Maura certainly caught it, an irrepressible smile flickering across her face.

They both turn to part ways and Maura looks over her shoulder to look at Jane one last time for the day and giggled, catching the unsuspecting brunette pumping her arm in a swift motion of excitement and from the distance heard a faint "Yes!"

* * *

**Much calmer chapter than the last. Think it will stay like that? How about that cute bit of fluff at the end, huh? :) **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Warning, smut ahead. If that's not your thing just skip it. Hoping I did a good job on it. This has been rated M from the beginning so I assume most of you guys are ok with that kind of stuff.**

**Friendly reminder, no beta. I check for mistakes but might miss some. **

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 5

The streets were abnormally crowded the following day as Jane drove through. Traffic was high and pedestrians were everywhere. It took her twice as long as it should've to get to the address Maura had texted her the previous night when they made dinner plans.

Jane didn't think to bring a dress, not that she owned many, but luckily she brought one of her suits which was pretty nice. It was very different from the attire of t-shirts and jeans Maura had seen her in so far which made her a little nervous about how she looked.

Maura's house was a simple yet beautiful and elegant structure. The one story home had a perfectly tended to garden and fresh-cut grass, the pleasant smell of it all filling Jane's nose as she walked up the smooth stone path to Maura's door. She knocked lightly, not having to wait long at all for her to open it.

Both women stood completely speechless for a few seconds as they took in the other's appearance.

"Wow... Jane, you look amazing. Please, come in." She moved to the side and opened the door wider, making room for Jane to enter.

"Thanks, and you look really beautiful." Jane received another kiss on the cheek and gave her one also. She handed her the bouquet of a dozen roses and smiled. "These are for you."

"They're gorgeous, Jane. Thank you. I just happen to have an empty vase they would go perfectly in." The honey blonde doctor walks over to the kitchen and motions for Jane to follow. There was an empty vase on the counter and she quickly filled it with water. She cut the ends off of the stems and places the roses inside the clear glass and smells them. "I've always loved the smell of fresh roses, they're probably my favorite."

"I did good?" Jane says, making them both laugh.

"You could've brought me a weed torn out from the ground with dirt and the roots still attached and I would've been happy... But yes, you did good."

"I have plenty of weeds near my apartment building if you want any."

"That would be lovely, thank you." Maura plays along with Jane's joke, still laughing. "So, would you like a tour? How are we on time?"

"Sure, a tour would be great. As for time, we're good. Traffic is pretty high though and there were a ton of people outside. Is something going on?"

"Oh, yes... I've been busy with work I forgot what the date was. There's a week-long festival celebrating the founding of the city 80 years ago. All the people really get into it every year, coming together as a community." Maura explains as she starts walking to begin a mini tour of her home.

"Sounds nice. I like that people still do things like that around the world."

Maura leads Jane room to room, giving her a brief description of each one. Walking back down the hallway, Jane spots a photo hanging on the wall.

"Is that your turtle, Bass? He's huge!"

"Tortoise." Maura corrects nicely but can tell Jane said the wrong species on purpose. She loved her teasing and sense of humor, something that was fast growing on her. "And yes, that's Bass. He's back in Boston living with a friend until I get back."

The tour ends a few minutes later and the two leave the house. Jane opens the car door for Maura and is thanked for the chivalrous gesture.

While driving through the heavy traffic, Maura talks google about Jane's car.

"Did you know that the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro was the number one selling car in the US for a majority of the year?"

"I didn't, but I'm not surprised. It's a great car. Do you drive? I saw some cars by your house, not sure which one could be yours."

"The Jeep Wrangler is mine, though my Prius is in Boston. I prefer that but didn't bother bringing it over here."

"Nice. Aren't those cars supposed to be really good for the environment or something?" Jane asks as she stops the car for the millionth time, while many people are crossing the street.

"Yes, they are." Maura nods, and then the conversation eventually moved towards their interests.

The current topic was Jane's love of sports.

"Man, aren't we a pair? I get banged up and you can fix me." Jane jokes again.

"You wouldn't purposely get yourself hurt just so I could examine you, would you?" Maura flirtatiously asks with an eyebrow raised, directly looking in Jane's eyes.

Jane gives her the trademark Rizzoli smirk and flirts right back with a wink and speaks in her deep husky voice that sent delightful shivers down Maura's spine. "Maybe..."

They eventually arrive at the restaurant and are seated in a warm and cozy booth in the back, having some privacy. The two of them made light conversation until their food arrived and kept it up in between bites when they ate.

There was a small dance floor that caught Jane's eye, so she stood up and asked "Dance with me?"

Maura took Jane's hand and walked over with her. She didn't know how she managed to move her legs when she thought Jane would make her turn into a puddle the moment their hands touched.

The music playing was very soft and intimate as Jane and Maura pressed their fronts together. Maura rested her head on Jane's shoulder and they swayed to the beat for several minutes in a comfortable silence.

"Maura?"

"Hmm?" She hums with her eyes closed and a smile she thinks will be permanently plastered on her face, not that she minds.

"I like you, a lot. I really really do." The sincerity and seriousness in her tone made Maura lift her to head and look at Jane.

"I like you very much, as well. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since we met." Maura blushes at the admission.

When Maura averts her gaze, Jane gently takes her by the chin to regain eye contact. "Neither have I."

They both feel the urge to kiss and lean in... Until a fellow dancer accidentally bumps into them and ruins the moment, who of course immediately apologizes. Then Jane and Maura smile apologetically at one another.

"The night is still young. If you want to, I have an idea for one last thing to do for our date." Jane asks with Maura still in her arms.

"I would love to."

* * *

Jane pays for dinner, Maura wanted to but Jane insisted she did, and they exit the restaurant. Climbing back into the Camaro, Jane once again drives through the busy city night.

She goes back to her apartment and takes Maura to the roof, quickly retrieving a blanket from her apartment on the way up.

"I don't really know my way around so this was the first place I thought of that we could this. I haven't watched the stars in ages and thought it would be kinda nice to with you. Since you're really smart you could tell me some of the constellations, too."

"Jane, that's such a good idea. Very romantic."

Maura helps Jane lay out the thick but soft blanket on the flat rooftop, and both kick off their shoes. They relax into a comfortable position and look up towards the sky together.

"What's that one?" Jane points to a small group of stars directly above them.

"Hercules. You can see what sort of looks like a bow in his hand, right there." She says, inching a little closer to make sure Jane sees.

Hands touch ever so slightly but it's enough for them to feel a big spark of electricity, both gasping softly. Lovingly staring into the other's eyes, they lean in at the same time.

Their lips tentatively meet... Then a loud series of popping noises forces Jane to break from it. She reaches for her gun and quickly pulls it out, looking for the danger. Instead seeing different colors everywhere.

Maura sat up in an instant and delicately places a hand on Jane's tense shoulder as to not scare her in her panic. "I'm so sorry. I completely forgot they do fireworks. We can go inside if they scare you."

Jane lowers her gun realizing there was no danger at the moment and turns to Maura. "No, it's just... I thought it was a gun going off. It's instinct for me to react like that I guess."

"Of course, in your profession and with what just happened I totally understand."

"At least we can say we literally saw fireworks on our first date."

Maura laughs, Jane thinks the sounds is heavenly. She just has to have her lips against hers again. So Jane recaptures Maura's lips with her own.

The kiss becomes heated, Maura sucks on Jane's bottom lip teasingly and releases it, the action causing Jane to expel a tiny moan. Her hands roam the detective's toned body, grasping her waist to bring her closer.

Air unfortunately becomes a necessity for their burning lungs and the kiss ends. They break away from it breathlessly, both grinning like an idiot.

Neither mind the break, both perfectly content holding each other. The sky gazing continues until Maura shivers from the cold.

"You wanna go inside and get warmed up?" Jane suggests, wrapping the blanket around the smaller woman. She thinks it's a good idea and accepts.

"Your place is really nice. Very clean and neat." Maura admires when they're inside and she looks around.

"I just moved in, that's why. Give me a few months and my mother will wanna put me on that show Hoarders."

"You can't be that messy." She says, making that beautiful sound Jane loves again.

"Alright, maybe not that bad. C'mon, I'll give you a tour too. Might not be as long as the one you gave me..."

"I think I'll still enjoy it. After all, I do have a very sexy tour guide." Two pairs of eyes become several shades darker and pupils dilate at the remark.

Jane temporarily lost her focus then cleared her throat to speak. They didn't have very much to go over, the tour only lasting a minute. The living room, kitchen, and bathroom door at the end of the hall, all within sight from where they were standing. Jane's bedroom was also at the end of the hall, but not visible from there.

They walked to it, the door already open. Jane was grateful she actually made the bed for once.

"Jane..." Maura whispers, taking her hand.

Without a word, lips crashed together more passionate and intense than before. Their pulses quickened and hearts pounded. Jane brought her hand up to the back of Maura's neck and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. She darted out her tongue, and Maura moaned as she permitted access.

Jane shrugged off her jacket, Maura instantly running her hands down the body she was pressed against. She tugged at the shirt that was tucked in Jane's pants and yanked it off in a flash, fingertips brushing against her breasts.

"Oh god..." Jane cried, tilting her hips further into her, craving more contact.

Maura trails wet kisses down Jane's jaw line to her collarbone as Jane unzips the back of Maura's dress. She slips it tantalizingly slow down her slim waist and past the firm curves of her ass, letting it drop the rest of the way. She squeezes Maura's bottom and loops her fingers in the waistband of her panties. Jane looks at Maura to make sure it's ok to take this step, so as a way of saying yes Maura unhooks Jane's bra with an impish grin. The offending undergarment was thrown to the other side of the room.

She pushes Jane onto the bed, who supports herself by leaning up on her elbows and looks up at the beauty before her. Maura removes her own bra to reveal her very full breasts. Jane unconsciously licks her lips in excitement as Maura crawls onto the bed, hovering over her.

Jane reached out to cup her breast and twirled a thumb around the hardened nipple. Seeing Maura close her eyes, Jane takes advantage and flips them over to lavish her neck and goes upward. She takes an earlobe between her teeth making Maura squirm beneath her.

Jane chuckles under her breath and whispers "I think I just exposed a serious weakness of yours, Doctor Isles."

Maura could only respond with a whimper, but it became much louder when Jane flicked her tongue against her ear. Jane was so focused on pleasing Maura she didn't notice the hand that crept between her own thighs until her dripping wet folds were stroked fervently by the perfectly long and slender fingers.

She felt the burning desire to feel Jane from the inside, so Maura thrusted two fingers into her. The softness of Jane's walls were mesmerizing to Maura. Jane bit down on her shoulder, sucking and nibbling it while the fire deep in her started to rise. Grinding and riding Maura's hand, who accelerated her already fast pace and curled her fingers each time she slid them out.

Jane's impending orgasm rippled through her, yelling out in ecstasy and then collapsing into waiting arms.

She stayed there for a few minutes while Maura absent mindedly ran her hand through the wild mane. When labored breathing calmed she picked her head up and said "Hey."

"Hey back." Maura's warm smile melted her heart.

"That was incredible. I can't even begin to describe how amazing that felt. But now I've got some work to do..." Jane's stare suddenly became predatory, peppering kisses between Maura's breasts all the way down to her navel.

Maura twitched in anticipation as Jane kissed everywhere around where she truly needed and wanted her most. Her torture finally stopped when Jane licked the length of Maura's slit.

She felt a hand on her head, fingers twisting their way through her thick black curls, while the other interlocking with Jane's. The emotional and physical connection made Jane nearly burst with happiness, and in response roughly circled around her sensitive bundle of nerves with her tongue.

"Don't stop. Please..." Maura begged as she pushed her hips upwards, Jane then used her free hand to hold her down. She was unable to see or feel Jane's smirk as her orgasm was building. The insane amount of pressure like a dam ready to break at any moment. The pleasant overwhelming sensation of being sent over the edge finally arrived when Jane made Maura come completely undone.

Jane laid by Maura's side and held her until her senses returned. They tangled themselves in one another in a tight embrace.

"And you say I'm incredible... Wow." Maura looked like she was over the moon. She tried to stifle a yawn, but Jane caught it.

"Go to sleep, I've got you." She kisses her temple and they fell asleep within minutes in each other's arms.

* * *

Jane woke before Maura, in a state bliss and euphoria. She feels her lover stir curls up further into her side.

Without disturbing her, Jane grabs her phone on the nightstand next to the bed. She sends the usual check in messages to Frost and Korsak, and Maura wakes up shortly after.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Mmm... Morning." Maura's just woken up voice is raspy like Jane's, which Jane thinks is extremely adorable. She leans up to give her undercover lover a quick peck on the lips. "What time is it?"

Jane checks her phone and says "Almost 9:30."

She sits up, Jane traces patterns on her exposed back, both still naked.

"I have off today, if you're not busy would you want to spend the day together?" Her voice is already chipper despite just waking up, Jane wonders with amazement at how she does that. One more thing she loves about her.

"I'm as free as a bird."

Jane and Maura shower together, unable to keep their hands off each other. When they dry off, Jane offers to give Maura some clothes to borrow until they get back to Maura's where she can get her own, figuring she wouldn't want to put on what she wore yesterday.

After they leave Maura's house the new couple decide to go for a walk, arms looped together as they did.

They had been walking for sometime when they suddenly hear a man's voice not far behind them. Jane and Maura turn to see him with an angry expression on his face. The detective vaguely remembers him from somewhere but can't quite place it.

"What do you think you're doing with her, Maura? You belong with me."

"Ian, I've told you this a thousand times. I don't want you like that. Please leave us alone."

"Like hell I will." He growls, stepping forward and giving Maura a shove.

Jane's having none of this and quickly maneuvers in front of Maura protectively, taking Ian down with the same move she used on James Ballard the other day. Except this time she used much more force.

"Ahh! You bitch! I think you broke my wrist!" He cries, examining it and glaring at Jane.

"Lay a hand on Maura again and I promise you I'll break more than just that. Now get away from us."

"I'll be seeing you two again, you can count on that." Ian threatens in a grumble as he walks away.

"You ok, Maur?" Jane asks when he's gone.

"Yes, I'm alright. Thank you."

"Who the hell was that guy? A crazy ex or something?"

"No, we work together at the hospital. He's under the false impression that I want a relationship with him. I constantly refuse his advances as politely as I can but he doesn't seem to let up. He's never touched me before now and has never been that angry."

"If he ever bothers you again... call me, ok?"

"Of course, but you don't need to protect me, Jane. I wouldn't want him hurting you either." Maura gives her a weak but sweet smile.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I haven't known you long Maura, but I care about you a lot. If anything ever happens to you..." She shakes her head and trailed off, hating the thought of Maura being harmed.

Maura leans up to give Jane a kiss on the lips, making Jane instantly happy and feeling much better. "I feel the same way about you. How long we've known each other is irrelevant in my opinion."

* * *

**Mostly fluff and smut, with a little drama at the end in this chapter. More action coming up soon. :D **

**Personally, I don't like Ian at all. He was just using Maura and he made her cry. So naturally I'm using this as an opportunity for Jane to hurt him. Wish she had done that in the show. Anyone think he'll show up again in my story? :)**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Just wanna thank all of you again for continuing to read and review, including the guests I wish I could respond to... And to those who recently followed and favorited this story. You're all awesome. :D**

**Italics down below are a flashback.**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 6

Over the next two and a half weeks, Jane and Maura were inseparable. They spent every day together with Frost sometimes joining them, him and Maura getting along well. The three alternated between hanging out at each other's places or going out somewhere in the city.

Maura luckily had no run ins with Ian at the hospital or anywhere else. Either he was avoiding her or he took some time off. Whatever the case, the three of them were grateful nothing else has happened.

One day they were all at Frost's place watching a basketball game. Maura was laying in Jane's lap on his couch while the brunette was explaining the basics to her.

"If you shoot from that spot he's in right now, it's worth two points. But if you go back behind that line there it's worth three. And you have to dribble the ball the entire time without letting the other team get it... There's a ton of rules but you get the idea right?"

"Yes, it seems simple enough to follow. I wasn't very much into sports when I was younger, mostly fencing and ballet. I was more of an art student."

"Well that's why it's good you have me now, we have so much to learn from each other." Jane squeezes her shoulder and Maura nuzzled into her more.

Moments like this made Jane feel very happy. She's managed to tell a lot about herself to Maura without revealing her cover, making her feel a little better about lying. Frost was also pretty happy for his best friend and partner. Jane still laughs at his shocked expression when he found out that her and Maura slept together.

_The day of the Ian incident, Jane had just dropped off Maura at her place and returned to her apartment to see Frost outside with a six-pack under his arms._

_"Thought I'd surprise you with this... Hey, what's that big smile for? What happened?" He asks, placing the beer on a nearby chair._

_Jane replayed the previous night's events in her mind, her devilish smirk made him instantly suspicious. "You did something last night, didn't you? Wait, wasn't your date with Maura last night?" Her grin was even wider as he began putting the pieces together. "No... No way! You and her..." His insinuation was obvious with the tone of his voice._

_"Yep." Jane had to laugh at Frost's surprised look._

_"Wow, way to go Jane. Things are getting serious between you two. Congrats."_

_She thanks him for the support and the two go inside to drink and watch TV. Killing time until they're called for another job, one that hopefully brings them a step closer to ending this._

Jane smiles at the memory and breaks out of her reverie when she hears her partner yell at the game. She sees the replay and knows why, their team is about to lose all because the referee making an obvious mistake in judgment.

"Oh c'mon! That was a foul!"

Maura knows it's frustrating but can't help asking "Why are you yelling? You know you can't change the outcome."

She looks over at Frost and takes the remote to turn off the TV. "Gee, I thought I could."

"That would require crossing the space-time continuum."

Jane and Frost crack up, and eventually Maura does too when she realizes Jane was joking again.

"How about a real game, bud? Wanna see if you can beat me?" Jane challenges Frost knowing full well he wouldn't back down, just like her brother Frankie.

"You're on. Maura, where are the courts around here?"

"A few blocks from my house actually. No one ever uses them so they should be vacant for you."

"Excellent. You're coming with us, right? You should play. It'll be fun, you can learn from the real pro's of the game." Jane jokes, bumping fists with her partner.

"Sure. I would love to see the outcome. You're both talented so it should be interesting to see who wins."

They all get in Maura's wrangler and drive to the empty basketball courts, Jane and Frost bickering over who is the better player of the two.

The heat already affecting them the moment they got out of the car. Maura decides to sit this one out and watch them from the shade on the bleachers. Luckily the shade prevented the metal from being too hot to sit on. She's glad she didn't play because she would've been too distracted by Jane anyway.

The Italian removed her shirt, leaving on her tank top. Maura could see the muscles flex in her biceps as she loosened up with a quick stretch.

Frost mocked Jane having to keep her shirt on by taking off his, revealing his built torso.

"You're an asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah, but I'm still your best friend anyway." He teases right back, matching Jane's playful smirk.

"Whatever... Check the ball and get your loss over with already."

The game begins, both quickly becoming sweaty but they push through regardless. Jane is unaware of the effect she's having on Maura at the moment, the way she moved and was dripping with sweat. The doctor was getting more turned on by the minute, so she tried to focus her attention on the game.

Jane was cautious about getting too close after her nose being broken from the last time she played, so she faked a step to the left and sprinted right. The move successfully fooling Frost long enough for her to dribble by and take a shot.

"Nothing but net, my friend. Nothing but net..." She gloated and tossed the ball to him.

"Oh shut up. Learn that trick from your brother? He always cheats when we play."

Jane scoffs as he dribbles towards the hoop. "How's that cheating? You're just mad you fell for it."

He grumbles but rushes forward anyway, getting careless and sloppy. Jane spots a chance and takes the ball, and in the last few seconds of the quarter successfully earns a three pointer.

Jane smiles when she hears Maura clapping for her. She walks over to give her kiss, then grabbed a water bottle and empties all over her face in an effort to cool off.

"If you two are hot, you could always swim in my pool. I keep it at the perfect temperature."

"Whadaya say? Wanna forfeit and go to Maur's?"

"I won't pass up that up, but I'm _not_ forfeiting... I'm postponing. There's a difference."

"Oh just accept defeat, you were no match for me anyway."

Frost rolls his eyes but smiles, not really mad at all, and says "Let's go."

* * *

Instead of bickering during the drive this time, Jane and Frost joke that they're so hot they'll jump in the pool with their clothes on. Maura can't help but smile at their sibling like friendship. Their bond was something to treasure and she greatly admired what they shared.

Maura led the two out back of her home, their eyes widening in excitement from the large pool filled with cold water. Frost says he'll just use his basketball shorts to swim in instead of trunks, since he didn't have any with him. Jane however, borrowed a suit at Maura's insistence, saying it was only fair since Jane let her borrow clothes once. She wanted so badly to feel the cold relief of the water Jane didn't argue and was grateful.

While Maura went in to check on something and to change, Jane and Frost both did a cannon ball into the pool. A volleyball was floating around and the two decide to bounce it back and forth, splashing around as they did.

Maura comes back out just in time to witness the friendly game. Jane notices Maura out of the corner of her eye and is distracted by the bright red bikini she was wearing.

So distracted she doesn't hear Frost yell "Heads up!"

The volleyball hits Jane in the side of the head and it hardly fazes her. She rubs the area for a second and swims over to where Maura gracefully steps in the shallow end. Frost's guffaws are drowned out completely then stop altogether when he sees what had Jane in a trance.

"Damn, Maur... You look so sexy in that."

Maura's blush is still visible under the hot sun. "Thank you... But I'm looking at something much better."

Jane's response was a kiss, pulling Maura deeper into the water and wrapping her arms around her.

Meanwhile Frost teasingly shouts "Get a room!"

His partner splashes water in his direction, and an abrupt but fun splash fight breaks out between them. Maura sneaks in an attack on an unsuspecting Jane and attempts to dunk her, but Jane gets the upper hand and dodges it.

"Who's side are you on? Traitor. That's it! You're going down, Isles."

Maura shrieks and escapes from Jane's clutches as fast as she can, but the amount of water slowing her down made it easy for her capture. Jane tackled her under, the frenzy of bubbles clouding their vision. The doctor brushes a finger against Jane's ribs right on her ticklish spot and gets free, swimming away as Jane laughs uncontrollably, getting water in her nose. She pops up, gasping and sputtering for air but is obviously ok.

"I believe I win that round." Maura proudly states, earning a high-five from Frost.

They all continued their little pool war until stomachs started rumbling. Maura beamed at them, knowing this would happen.

"While you two were playing volleyball I had dinner cooking in the oven, perfect timing. It should be done soon. Dry off and we can go inside to satisfy your hunger problem."

Jane and Frost dug in with gusto, trying to tame their ravenous appetites caused by the strenuous basketball game and pool activities.

"This is delicious, Maura. I bet my Ma would love the recipe for it."

"Thanks, and I'd be happy to give it to her. It's not a family secret. Just something I came up with one day..." She looks over at Frost, steering the conversation towards him. "So, Barry. I know so much about Jane, but not a lot about you except that you and Jane are close friends and work together."

He knows Jane has found a way to skirt around the whole identity thing, so he told a few real things that wouldn't hurt.

"I moved around a lot with my mom when I was little, finally settling for good in Boston when I was about 10. I got picked on in school for being new and a certain loud mouthed girl came to my defense. We've been a team ever since. Stayed friends all through school and some of those awful fast food jobs we had when we were teenagers. Other than that there isn't much to know. I can't get enough of sports, I like to draw, and I'm a bit of a computer geek, too."

"You both seem like you had interesting childhoods."

"We sure did, Jane and I knew how to raise some hell and have fun."

The rest of dinner was them reminiscing over their best memories, laughter nonstop at the table. After they cleaned up the dishes, it was starting to get late and time for them to go soon.

Not wanting Jane to leave, Maura asks "Do you want to stay here with me tonight?"

The wicked gleam in Jane's eye meant a definite yes, she turns to Frost and hands him the keys for the Camaro. "I'm staying here for the night. You can pick me up tomorrow and maybe I'll think about a rematch on the courts."

He looks at her like she has no chance of winning. "You got lucky... See ya tomorrow. Thanks for dinner, Maura."

"My pleasure, Barry. Goodnight." Maura says, watching him get in the car. She closes the door behind her and turns to see Jane slowly making her way over to her. "So we're all alone... What do you suggest we do?"

Jane doesn't speak... She just lifts Maura in her arms and tenderly kisses her, the smaller woman tightly wrapping her legs around her waist. She carries her into the bedroom and uses one foot to shut the door.

* * *

During the two and half week period, Jane or Frost would visit Nico every couple of days. Jane just didn't mention that she was only there to see Maura on her breaks and not him, but it did help them further gain his trust.

At the end of the couple of weeks during one of the visits, Nico has news for her.

"I've been talking with the boss and some of the guys, and we think it's time you and Jackson meet them. You've more than proved your loyalty. We were gonna wait until I got out of here but don't think that's necessary anymore. With me out of the game for at least another month, they're gonna need you two now. You're good at what you do."

"Just tell me when and where. We'll be there."

He gives her a paper with an address and time, telling her to be careful with it. "Memorize it, then burn it. Can't risk someone seeing that."

Jane nods and leaves the room. She takes out her cell phone to call Frost.

"Meet me at my apartment. We've got work."

"Got it. See ya there."

Getting there in just a couple of minutes, Jane and Frost go inside to talk.

"What's going on, Jane?"

"Nico says we're gonna finally meet the boss. We're so close to finishing this I can practically taste it."

"We better get some extra clips of ammo. If things go badly again we're gonna need them."

They gather all the guns and ammo under the mattress and load everything up, double checking that they're working properly.

"We got this, Frost. We're just gonna go in there, listen to whatever they have to say and get confirmation on the ID of the boss. Once we leave, and if they don't give us a job, we'll be able to take down the whole operation soon. It's almost over." Jane sounded so sure and confident, eager to get the bad guy finally.

"I'll text Korsak and let him know we're going in."

"Make sure he also knows to standby on sending in reinforcements, but only when we give the ok. We don't want this getting blown up too early and screw this up."

Frost sends one of the coded messages to their partner before they head out to the address given to them. The ride is silent the entire way.

From the outside it, it looks like an abandoned warehouse that hasn't been occupied in ages. Jane and Frost pull over to the side street so they aren't directly in front and draw attention to it. A man is seen patrolling the grounds with a heavy automatic assault rifle, he nods them in already knowing who they are.

Inside are the two robots Alex and Derek, along with a dozen or so other thugs. They were all packing weapons and drugs, paying no mind to the new members of the crew. The undercover detectives warily watched their surroundings, both scoping out the best places to find cover or an escape route in case things go awry.

Derek comes over to them and shakes their hands in greeting. "Welcome. The boss will be here soon, he's running a little late on an errand. Jackson, help us load some of the stuff up in the trucks. You stay here Torres and wait for him to show up."

_'Damn it...'_ She thought. _'Be safe, partner.'_

He wasn't a mind reader, but Frost knew Jane enough to know that she was thinking right now. It was one thing to live in separate apartments, but being separated now was not something either enjoyed. They needed and wanted to have the other's back.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Frost casually replies as he's brought outside to assist the others.

Jane is left alone, but not for very long. She hears a car outside shut off, then voices becoming louder as they got closer to her.

The rusted door creaks open, letting in the blinding light and then disappears when the door closed. Jane sees a man look her over, and she has to suppress the shiver of disgust at the vile things he is obviously thinking. He saunters over with such arrogance it infuriates Jane to no end.

"For insurance purposes I will not be saying my real name, so you can call me Boss or Sir. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Jane answers while getting a really bad vibe from him.

"Good. I wanted to bring you in early on this. We're on a manhunt for that son of a bitch Marco, we heard he's fled west of here. The area he's supposedly hiding in happens to be where the next big deal is taking place, so we're gearing up for that as well." He walks closer to invade her personal, checking her out with a sinister smile. The creepiness rolled off him in giant waves. Jane nearly gags at the stench of his rotten breath. "Nico isn't a man easily impressed, but was when you saved him. He's one of my best men and I trust him. So if he likes you, then I like you. That doesn't mean I won't have my guard up. I've got to be careful, I've had run ins with the law before and can't afford to get caught again."

She fakes a smile. "I understand. That's the reason my friend and I came here. Jason screwed things up in Boston so we had to leave before he tries to give us up if he does."

"If he wants to keep living then he'll keep his mouth shut. Prison won't protect him from us, he knows that... Anyway, we're on a tight schedule. When we're finished with packing up we'll be leaving as soon as possible."

Jane is thankful and relieved Frost was done helping and came over to take some of the focus off her being stared at like a piece of meat. The boss steps away from Jane while Frost introduces himself.

"I'm Jackson, you must be..."

"Just call me Boss. We're not at the point of a first name basis yet, but you two keep doing what you've done so far and it won't be long until we are. Alex told me about your plan that wound up saving all of your asses. Pretty smart. We could definitely use people like you and Torres." He praises, then his uncomfortable stare returning to Jane's body.

Frost wanted to knock his yellowing teeth into the back of his throat but somehow found the will to stop himself. Before anything else happened that might've provoked him, the same door the boss came through earlier opened again and another man came in, the light making it hard to see his face.

"About time you got in here..." The boss complains, then motions for him to come over to where the three of them are standing. "I want you to meet Torres and Jackson."

Now out of the light, Jane was stunned to see Ian Faulkner walking over to them.

* * *

**Oh crap! Ian is involved? I wonder how he'll react to Jane being there. It's not like I know what happens or anything... ;)**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli** **& Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Wow, got a ton of feedback about that cliffhanger last chapter. You guys rock! :D**

**Loving how everyone is wanting Ian to get beat up. Let's see if that happens. ;)**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 7

_'Shit.'_ Jane shouted internally but kept a straight face to hide her fear.

Ian is obviously very angry to see her there and demands to know why. "What the hell is she doing here?"

The boss stares at him quizzically, he told Ian several times that Jane and Frost would be there. "You two know each other?"

"She's the one who broke my damn wrist!" He practically snarls and steps towards Jane trying to be intimidating, his dark eyes filled with an unbridled rage.

Jane and Frost instantly tense up, ready for a fight. The boss intervenes and steps in between the three them, extending his arms to create a safe distance in the small group.

"Better be careful who you're raising your voice to, Faulkner. I don't know or care what the issue is, but you better put it aside for now and deal with it later. We don't have time for this crap."

Ian remained in the same stance but relaxed his shoulders. With his jaw clenched tight and through gritted teeth, he begrudgingly agrees. "Fine."

The truce, however temporary it may be, satisfies the boss. One of the dozen men calls him over to supervise last minute plans and details before they go. The three continue to glare at one another in silence until Ian finally says in a threatening tone "I _will_ get you back for what you did."

She refuses to be scared and replies in the same fierce tone while Frost stands next to her, still ready to take out Ian if need be. "Go ahead and try it, I dare you. If you didn't harass Maura, I wouldn't have hurt you."

He growls in response, but a loud whistle from the boss stops him from doing anything else. Everyone in the warehouse brings their attention to him.

"We're leaving now. All of you get finish what you're doing."

Ian lets it go for now and walks over to the boss. "I'm going back to work now, I'll get the things you asked for while I'm there."

He nods and lets him leave, Jane and Frost watching his every move before they have to go themselves. They're brought outside by the boss where several cars and trucks are lined up, then to one with its trunk open.

"You're getting an upgrade in weapons. Take one and go the red Impala over there. You're riding with Scott and Taylor."

Jane and Frost each take a desert eagle and go to the car where two burly men wait for them. The shorter one puts out his cigar and flicks it away, then introduces himself.

"I'm Taylor... That moron is Scott." He says, to which Scott gives him a friendly punch to the arm.

"Torres." She cocks her head to the side towards Frost. "That's Jackson."

"Heard you guys are good shooters. We might need that. Marco may be stupid for what he did, but he's still good with a gun."

"We'll get him." Frost declares with unwavering determination.

"The drive is about an hour long, unfortunately the air doesn't work." Scott informs them as they pile inside the car, all groaning and hissing at the scalding hot leather their bodies touched.

_'Maybe wearing shorts wasn't such a good idea...'_ Jane thought to herself, lifting her thigh away from her seat to alleviate some of the burning sensation.

* * *

By the time they got there, the 114 degree heat had made everyone's wet hair cling to their foreheads and necks. Just outside of town, they all parked next to one other to get their assignments before going in.

"I've got better things to do than dealing with Marco myself. The four of you are going to take care of it for me. Our guy says he's on the east end of town, on the corner of Church Street. Old hotel, it's still open but is rarely used. There might be a couple people in there, so watch your backs." The boss finished his orders, then motions for his driver to go.

"You heard the man." Taylor turns to Frost and says "You and Torres will go around back while we go though the front and corner him. If he's really in there, he won't have any place to go. The place is pretty big so we'll have to spread out and do this fast before he has a chance to get away."

They make their way over to Church Street and park the car out of sight of the hotel. Jane, Frost, and the guys cross the dirt covered street on foot and part ways when they get to the alley behind the building Marco is supposed to be in. Jane is grateful for the separation so she has the chance to talk to her partner.

"We have to find him first. I want to avoid him getting killed if possible. There's been enough bloodshed during this operation already, let's try to prevent any more. Plus, he might come in handy. He could know a lot of things that'll help the case more."

"Right... Good luck, partner."

They enter the old hotel together, back to back then split up. Jane goes to clear the first room and sees a man in a metal folding chair facing away from her. She silently approaches him only to discover that it's just a janitor, passed out with an empty bottle of scotch in his hand.

She slowly moves to the second floor, her movements careful on the creaking wooden steps. Jane swiftly but quietly searches the 4 rooms on that floor, seeing no sign of Marco yet.

The brunette detective sees Taylor coming up the steps, and she knows there's little time to find him. Luckily for her, he doesn't notice Jane. If he had, he'd know that floor was clear and would've made it much more difficult for Jane to find Marco first. She hurries to the third floor and looks through an adjoining room.

The beds in them are unmade, the floors filthy and littered with trash.

_'No wonder no one stays here anymore. I'm surprised this place is still open.'_

In the very last room Jane checks, she sees a bunch of bloody bandages on the floor, they appear to be very dry. Moving further into the room, the brunette is shoved to the wall causing her to drop her gun.

Marco wrestles her to the floor, delivering a heavy blow to Jane's face with his fist. She ignored the pain and knees him in the ribs. He rolls off her and groans, Jane grabs her gun and gets on top of him. She covers his mouth and puts the cold steel against his head.

"If you want to live, you better listen to every single word I say. Do you hear me?" She asks in a raspy whisper.

The wounded drug dealer's eyes widen in panic as sweat practically pours down his face, he seems to comprehend her words and nods yes.

"I promise I will get you out of this alive, but you have to trust me. I'm gonna knock you out, but when you wake up... Go in that closet and wait for someone to come for you. I'm taking my hand away, if you yell I won't hesitate to shoot you."

"Who are you?" He whispers once his mouth is free, taking a deep breath.

"Someone willing to help keep you alive, that's all you need to know about me."

"How do I know for sure you won't just kill me anyway?"

"You don't. You'll just have to take my word for it. You're lucky it was me that found you and not the two men downstairs looking for you. Screwing over Nico was a big mistake." Jane hears someone coming up the steps, so she hurries it up. "Remember, hide in the closet when you wake up and I promise help will come for you. Stay in there and wait for them. You have my word on this, ok?"

Marco gives a sharp nod of understanding then closes his eyes in preparation of the incoming strike against his head. Jane knocks him unconscious with a swift and powerful blow with her gun. To make the fake death more believable, she pops off two rounds. Footsteps and shouting are heard coming towards her.

"Jane, you ok?" Frost asks from the doorway, noticing the already darkening welt on the side of her face.

"Yeah. He put up a fight but I got him." She winks and rises from her kneeling position over Marco and walks over to Frost. The others arrive just as she does.

"Is he dead?" Taylor asks.

"He's not gonna be a problem for us anymore. We should go before the cops show up."

Frost, Taylor, and Scott peer over her shoulder and see Marco's prone body from where they stood, Jane hoping her plan works.

"Nice job, Torres. One less thing to worry about." Scott looks down at his watch and says "C'mon, we're out of here."

On the way out, they pass the still out cold janitor.

_'Didn't even wake up to the sound of gunshots. Damn... Did he down the entire bottle? He's gonna have one hell of a headache when he finally gets up.'_ Jane chuckles under her breath.

Together, the team exit the building and get back to their Chevy across the street. They speed off in a hurry, leaving a large cloud of dust behind them.

Scott takes out his phone and makes a call. "Sir... Yeah. He's dead. Torres shot him. Ok. Good... Yes, sir. I have to stop for gas first, but we'll be there." He hangs up and informs the others. "Our orders are to head back to the warehouse and wait for the boss."

Taking an exit that led to a shopping center, he parks next to a pump at a gas station.

"You guys coming in?"

"No... Just gonna relax in here." Jane responds, stretching out her arms and sinking back into the seat that had long cooled off at that point.

They shrug their shoulders and get out of the car to go inside the station. Frost sees Jane take out her cell phone and asks "What are you doing?"

"Texting Ballard. Be my lookout."

She keeps the phone low in her lap while Frost watches out for Taylor and Scott to return from inside the gas station.

_'2410 Church Street, West Creek. 3rd floor, last room on the left. Marco is hiding in the closet. Proceed with caution and keep him on lockdown, no one is to know he is still alive until we're ready.'_

Jane impatiently bounces her leg, waiting for a response from the Lieutenant. It was only 15 seconds, but it was still long enough to wait when she finally gets a reply back.

_'Already out the door.'_

She barely has time to read the short message before Frost alerts her that they're both coming back to the truck. Jane shuts off the phone and shoves it back in her pocket just as Taylor puts his fingers on the door handle.

"They didn't have my damn chips." Taylor complains as he settles into the leather seat and slams the door shut in frustration.

Scott pumps the gas and speaks through the open window to his slightly chubby friend. "Maybe it's a sign you should lay off that stuff. With that growing gut of yours people are gonna start thinkin' you're pregnant."

Jane and Frost join his laughter while the man in front grunts and adjusts his jacket in lieu of a verbal response.

With the tank completely filled again, the long and excruciatingly hot drive back to the warehouse resumes.

* * *

No one else is there when they get back, so the four lounge around while they wait for the boss and the others to return.

Frost suggests they make use of the dart board to help pass the time, which they all think is a good idea. The teams were Jane and Taylor vs Frost and Scott.

Between rounds and turns, they used the sink to cool off. Soaking themselves with the sweet and perfectly ice cold water, preventing their bodies from becoming too hot.

The game and resting came to an end when boss finally got back two hours later, with good news in tow.

"The deal went down without any problems, we have our money. Marco is dead. Everyone is happy." He says to them all.

One of the crew members snorted and said "Except for Marco."

The boss walked over to Jane and Frost, patting them each on the back. "Exceptional work by you both. Jason did good hiring you. Not once did you fail to meet my expectations, and in fact exceeded them each time. I'm in a such a damn good mood..." He drapes his arm over Jane's shoulder, blatantly staring at her chest. He licks his lips at the sight of her neck all wet and then looks back up to finish speaking. "I'm giving everyone the rest of the day off. You've earned it. And... You've earned your pay. Go pick it up on that table over there on your way out."

"Thanks, boss." Jane felt as if she could vomit through her fake smile. He takes his arm away, much too slow for Jane's liking.

The two detectives go to said table and get their pay of $10,000 each, then step outside once again under the hot sun.

Back in their grey Camaro at last, Jane groans loudly in disgust and relief. "Oh my god, that guy is beyond creepy. He would not stop checking me out the entire time. I don't know how I didn't squirm out from under his arm. Did you smell how bad he is? Can't wait to slap the cuffs on him. Might need a hazmat suit though."

"Too bad you're already taken, he seems like such a decent guy." Frost jokes while Jane turns the car on and starts driving again. Both were very grateful the air conditioner worked in their car.

"Oh yeah, been waiting for him all my life." She sarcastically replies, then checks her phone and sees a text from Lieutenant Ballard.

_'Package is secure.'_

"Ballard says Marco is safe."

"Good. Like you said, he'll definitely be useful. Plenty of testimony to provide for who knows how many crimes. We could put a lot more than just this organization away."

"One of us has to be the brains of the operation."

"If you're the brains, then I'm definitely the looks. Better get some ice on that bruise if you want me to worry about competition."

Jane rolls her eyes, both laughing at the playful jabs they shoot at each other.

There's a brief lull in conversation while they're stopped at a red light. After a few seconds, Frost asks "You gonna go see Maura now?"

"Yeah. After seeing Ian earlier I wanna make sure she's safe."

"Are you going to tell her about him?"

"Probably. Our mission is basically done. All we have to do is make the arrests. I'll bring Maura over your place and we'll keep an eye on her for the night. I'll text Ballard later and let him know we're gonna move in on them tomorrow. Right now I need to get Maura."

"Want me to go with you in case Ian is there?"

"Nah... I doubt he's even there. If he is, he's nothing I can't handle. Besides, you look beat. I'll drop you off at your place so you can sleep for a bit."

"You sure? I don't know..." He's slightly skeptical about the decision, but Jane seems like she's not worried at all.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Frost. Go eat and rest. You'll need it. We'll be there as soon as we can."

Just as she says this, they stop in front of Frost's apartment. He gets out of the car and tells her "I'll see you and Maura later, you know to call if you need me."

Jane nods and watches him until he gets inside safely before she leaves for Maura's house.

Arriving just a few minutes later, Jane sees Ian and Maura standing out front, talking heatedly. Jane gets out of the car in a flash and rushes to Maura's side, bracing herself for a possible fight with Ian.

"You alright, Maur? Did he hurt you?" Jane asks, worriedly glancing back and forth between them.

"No, he didn't. Ian came to apologize for his actions the other week, and to show me this." Maura gestures to the folder in her hand. "It's your friend Mr. Capello's file... Are you aware of the horrible things that man has done? He's a criminal, Jane. What does that make you? You were with him the day he was shot... Was that really an accident? Are you even in security?"

"Maura, I can explain. Just, please... Don't listen to whatever Staulkner over there told you."

"Can you also explain why I was just called and told that your friend was viciously murdered in his hospital bed? His throat was cut. The kind of people you're involved with..." She trails off, scared and unsure of what to think or do.

Jane is silent for a moment, completely stunned by the news. She knows she heard her clearly, but in a near breathless whisper she asks anyway. "Nico... Nico's dead?"

"Yes. He was killed a few hours ago."

Jane glares at Ian then looks back at Maura, her anger softening when she does. She begs her again "If you give me a chance I will tell you everything, please."

"I can't do this now. I'm needed at the hospital. When I think things through I will call you, I just need some time to process this."

Seeing Maura walk away like that nearly broke Jane's heart. Her fury erupts and she lashes out at the smug man next to her. "You fucking stupid son of a bitch. Just because Maura doesn't want a pathetic piece of shit like you, no one can have her. Is that right?"

"You're no different than me."

"I am _nothing_ like you." She lets out an angry huff and decides he isn't worth any more of her time and chases after Maura, who's nearing her Wrangler down the end of the street. "Maura! Wait up!"

Out of nowhere, a beat up black sedan screeches to a stop next to Jane. Three hooded figures get out and grab her before she has a chance to put up a fight. Jane tries to scream, but a gloved hand is clamped over her mouth. She kicks a leg free and pushes against the already dented vehicle with all her might, sending the four of them crashing to the ground.

"Get the damn chloroform!" One shouts while trying to restrain her, they still have a tight grip on Jane so she can't escape.

The scuffle is loud enough for Maura to hear in the distance. Just as she turns to see what the commotion is, the men subdue Jane's thrashing about long enough to get the cloth doused with the chemical over her face. Maura is frozen in terror as Jane's eyes roll to the back of her head and eyelids close.

The men carry Jane's limp body into the car, and Maura bolts after it without a second thought. She drops her purse and Nico's file, the contents of each spilling all over the pavement. She doesn't know how she can save Jane, but will do whatever it takes.

Maura doesn't see the crack in the sidewalk in time, her heel gets caught in it and snaps off, and she falls to the ground. She looks up to see the car speeding off before she even had a chance of getting close to it.

And then it's gone.

"Jane!" Maura desperately yells, feeling completely helpless. She picks herself up, ignoring the large scrape on her knee that blood is dripping out of, and frantically searches for Ian, but he is nowhere to be found.

_'No... No! Jane! What do I do? Think!'_ Her thoughts are a jumbled mess of fear and confusion before the light bulb goes off. Her only hope in trying to save Jane.

"Barry... I have to get Barry." Maura speaks to herself out loud, then runs back to her purse on the ground to retrieve her keys, fumbling with them as she unlocks the Jeep.

Shakily putting the keys in the ignition while fighting tears, Maura slams her foot down on the gas pedal. Tires screeched loudly on the street and leave tread marks.

* * *

**Another made up city name too. **

**Staulkner was not a typo, just a funny name Jane gives that stalker Ian. **

**I know, I know... You can say it. I won't blame you. I'm a bitch for leaving you with another cliffhanger. Haha ;) **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Will Jane be rescued in time? I sure hope so... :)**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 8

Frost had just drifted off to sleep on his couch when the pounding and shouting at his door woke him. Instinctively, he grabbed the gun under his pillow and flew to the wall next the door. It was then he was able to recognize the frantic voice.

It was Maura, yelling his name.

"Barry! Barry, open the door!"

He looked through the peephole and sees she is alone, then undoes all the latches and locks to let her in the apartment.

"Maura? What's wrong?" He looks around for his partner but she isn't there. "Where's Jane?"

The doctor sobs into his chest, trying to calm her erratic breathing. Frost shuts the door and looks Maura over, now noticing her disheveled appearance. She was barefoot and her leg was bleeding from a nasty scrape.

He ushers her further into the apartment and sits her down on the couch in effort to try and get her to say what happened.

Maura was hiccuping and shaking. Whatever happened had terrified her. He knelt in front of her and asked again as calmly as possible "What happened, Maura? Where's Jane?"

She took a deep breath, her body shuddered in response. "Jane was ta-taken."

Frost's eyebrows furrow in grave concern and fear for Jane. "Tell me everything. Start from the beginning."

After another breath and a nod, she does. "I was just about to leave for work when I received a phone call telling me Mr. Capello was killed in his bed earlier..." His eyes widen at the news, but he urges Maura to continue. "Ian came to my house to apologize for pushing me the other week, and he showed me Mr. Capello's medical and criminal record. I was worried since Jane is associated with him, that she might be a criminal of some kind too. That's when Jane came over. I confronted her and she begged me to let her explain. I was so scared I just walked away... When I turned around I saw these men grab her. They used what looked like chloroform and carried her into the car. I ran after it, but I fell."

The crying started up again and she buries her face in her hands. "It's my fault she's gone. If... If I gave her that chance to talk then maybe she would be here and unharmed."

Frost places a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "This is _not_ your fault, Jane would agree with me on that."

"I was so scared, Barry. I didn't know what to think. It all happened so fast. When I saw those papers... The horrible things that man is accused of. I should've known better. I know Jane, she wouldn't do something like that. She's not that kind of person."

"You reacted how anyone would in this situation."

"What's going on? Who are you?"

_'We were going to tell her anyway, I definitely have to now. I'll need Maura's help to save Jane.'_ He thinks to himself.

"Jane and I are undercover. Long story short about a year ago we got a case and ended up infiltrating a huge drug operation. It led us here, we were planning on making all the arrests tomorrow."

"You're cops?" She let out a sigh of relief.

"Detectives." He clarified, then looked around the room. "We need to leave. It probably isn't safe here."

Maura's breathing once again steadied. "What should we do?"

"I'm gonna need back up. Damn it... I knew I should've gone with Jane." He says, blaming himself for Jane's capture.

"You would've been taken too... Or killed."

"Yeah, maybe- wait." Frost suddenly remembers something of vital importance mid sentence. "Where was Ian throughout all this?"

"He was standing near Jane, but disappeared when she was taken."

"He might know something... Where does he live?"

"Claymont Street, across town."

"I'll have to drop you off somewhere first... The police station or the hospital would be safest. I don't think anyone would try something there after Nico being killed so publicly." He gets up from the floor to retrieve another gun, and Maura follows.

"Let me come with you."

"No way, Maura. It's too dangerous. Jane would never forgive me if something happened to you, and nether would I." He looks at her like she's crazy.

Maura is adamant in her response, refusing to be told no. "I'm going."

* * *

Jane's entire body is stiff as she groggily comes to, not yet completely awake. The remnants of the chloroform still coursing through her veins. The brunette hears two men speaking nearby and listens in on their conversation. One of the voices belongs to the boss.

"Where's Faulkner now?"

"We don't know yet, sir. He took off as soon as he saw our car coming."

The boss growled, not happy at all. "Find him. That idiot has gone too far now. Because of some petty fight with Torres, he kills Nico. He works at the hospital, he should know where the cameras are. He was seen coming out of his room moments after Nico was killed. What was he thinking?"

He notices Jane stirring and kicks her awake. She grunts in pain but lets out a laugh. "Is that all you got?"

Jane is slapped hard across the face, then is gripped by her hair tightly to hold her head up. He tells her "You and Ian have caused me a lot of trouble. I can't have that going on here... You're both going to die. But first, I want to have a little fun with you."

He releases his grip and goes over to a table to unwrap a belt full of various sharp tools and knives, running his fingers over the blades. Picking one up, he walks over to Jane and drags it across her face and neck. She tries to jerk away from the cold weapon but is tied to a chair and unable to move very far.

The boss applies enough pressure to break through her tan skin, letting a fair amount of blood flow from her neck, not enough to kill her but still causing great pain. Jane grits her teeth and struggles to hold her in painful cries, while he just laughs evilly.

* * *

"I can't believe he's involved in all this. I should've known something was up when he came to my house." Maura remarks after being told by Frost that Ian was at the warehouse earlier.

"Let's hope he's here..." Frost says while parking the jeep.

They quietly walk up to the large home one normally wouldn't be able to afford on a Ian's doctor salary, which Maura took mental note of. Unlike her, Ian doesn't come from a wealthy background. So he didn't inherit or win any money she knew of. When they got to the front door they noticed the lights were still on.

Frost moved Maura to the side out of harms way. "Stay here until I give the ok to come in."

She nods, then Frost kicks down the door and charges in to the living room. Ian is startled by the loud noise and rushes to grab a gun, but the detective already has his aimed at him.

"Don't move. Sit down." He sees clothes strewn all over the floor and a couple suitcases. Frost kept his gun trained on him and sarcastically asks "Going somewhere?"

Once Ian is seated, Frost says "Maura, you can come in now."

She does, and storms over to Ian and smacks him so hard across the face even Frost winces.

"Where's Jane?" She demands in a fierce tone.

Ian spits out blood and replies in a cocky tone. "I won't say a damn thing."

"You're in a hurry for a reason. The longer we're here the more chance we have of being interrupted by the very people you're running from. It's only a matter of time. If you want, I'll just tie you up and leave you here to wait for them. Give up what you know or be killed by the boss. Your choice." Frost's voice was much calmer than Maura's, but he was just as intimidating.

The honey blonde quickly grew more impatient by the second, pacing on the carpeted floor. A golf bag is sticking out of a hall closet and she grabs one of the clubs. Going back over to Ian, she slams it onto the ace bandage covering his wrist.

"Talk!" She demands again in the same angry tone after his scream stopped.

He pants as he contemplates Frost's choices for a minute, then finally asks "What do you want to know?"

"Where could they have taken Jane?"

"The boss has a house not many know about. Few have the privilege of going there, not many being trusted with that information... But I know where it is. It's the only place I can think of that he might have her."

"Where is it?"

"Off the main highway, it's hidden in the mountains. There's only a few houses out there. It's the first one, you can't miss it."

Frost takes out cuffs from his back pocket and secures them tightly around Ian's wrists, ignoring his cry when he tightens it over the broken one. "You better not be lying or we'll be seeing you again... Cops will be here soon to take you in."

They would've laughed at his priceless expression of fear were it not for the serious situation. "You're a cop? Wait... No! Please. Don't go. You need to get me out of here before they show up and kill me."

Frost gives him a humorless laugh and says "Better hope the cops get here first then." He turns to Maura and nods, the silent exchange frightening Ian.

Maura smiles and thwacks him on the side of his head with the golf club, effectively rendering him unconscious. "What now?"

"We need to find a way to talk to Ballard. Gotta be careful about any moles. We don't want the boss knowing we're on to him." He takes one last look at Ian and smirks. "Nice swing by the way."

They close the door behind them and hurry back to the jeep to go get the help they need.

* * *

The blood from Jane's neck wound had dribbled down and covered half her shirt. Her arms and legs only had a few bruises on them, but she didn't know how many were on her aching stomach. Judging from the several times she was hit, losing count after 7 or 8, there were probably a lot.

The boss' tech man came into the room, much to Jane's relief to have a break from the relentless beating and any more cutting.

"Sir, take a look at this. She's been deleting her texts and call history."

"Oh, Jane... What are you hiding from us?" His hurt tone obviously faked.

"Go to hell you sick bastard." She refuses to break in front of him, using so much strength.

"If I'm going to hell, then I want company. I think I'll take you and that pretty Doctor Isles with me."

Something inside Jane snapped, and if it weren't for the restraints, she would've lunged at him and tore him apart. "Don't you _dare_ touch her!"

He smirks at her and turns his attention back to the tech guy. "Can you get them back?"

"It's a sophisticated phone, but yes. It'll take a few minutes though."

The boss looks over at Jane again and laughs. "We've got time."

He unties one of Jane's wrist restraints, she quickly uses all the energy she has left and swipes at his face. Three claw marks redden on his cheek instantly. Her wrist is grabbed and clenched tightly to prevent her from inflicting any more damage.

"I love it when they fight... You've definitely got a lot of that in you. So feisty." He groans excitedly as she attempts to break from his grasp.

Jane's fighting ceases when the boss injects something in her neck, and she slips from consciousness again.

* * *

Behind the Stad Van Hitte Police Station, Maura and Frost waited in the dark for the Ballard men. Frost had sent one of the coded messages to the Lieutenant to let him know they needed to meet up and it was an emergency. About 5 minutes later, Trevor and James casually strolled out with their empty coffee cups and threw them away in the dumpster, the act to throw off any possible suspicion. They looked around, saw no one else, and went across the parking lot to where Frost and Maura stood near a large tree.

"Our father and his partner will be out here in a minute. We all agreed it wouldn't be good if we left at the same time." Trevor explains to Frost.

"Understood."

"Who's this?" James asks, pointing to Maura.

"This is Maura... She's Jane's girlfriend. She's clean, it's ok to talk in front of her."

"Where is Jane anyway?"

"That's why we're here. Someone took her. We have a lead about where she might be but I can't go without back up."

"Shit..." James curses, as he removed his hat and runs his hand through his hair. "What else do we know? Anything?"

Frost and Maura gave a brief but detailed recap of the events that took place, during which the Lieutenant and his partner joined them, catching the tail end of it.

"I'm David, Jacob's partner. Sorry we haven't met before, I've been busy on another case."

"It's fine... You're here now. We need to go to this place and find Jane."

"I'm going with all of you." Maura's quiet voice interjects into the conversation.

The five men all simultaneously shout no, and David states "Miss, you're a civilian. We can't allow you to do that. These men are very dangerous, you need to stay here. We wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety if you came with us."

"I have experience with guns, I can help." Maura argues, but it doesn't quite convince the guys.

"What experience do you have?" David asks her.

"My half-sister Kate is an agent at NCIS, she taught me how to shoot. I assure you I have excellent aim, I even beat Kate at target practice sometimes." Seeing their still reluctant expressions, Maura continues on insisting she go. "Listen, we don't have time to argue this. If Jane is still alive we need to hurry and save her."

"Maybe she's right... She could help us, we're only a five man team. She says she can shoot and a highly trained government agent taught her how." Trevor finally says. Maura is throws him a grateful glance, relieved she has some support.

Lieutenant Ballard considers it for a moment and sighs. "Alright... You can go. But you're wearing a vest like the rest of us. It won't protect your head but I least want you to have some protection."

"I will. Thank you, Lieutenant."

"We're taking two cars. I'm riding with you and Detective Frost. Trevor and James, you're going with David. Once we get close to the mountains, turn off your headlights. We don't want to be spotted. There aren't many houses up that end but with what's going it'll be obvious why someone is out driving this late. Be careful, all of you."

After some parting words, the rescue team got into the unmarked cop cars and drove off.

* * *

When the bloodied and beaten detective wakes again, she discovers she is laid on the floor but not tied up. Jane is powerless, too weak to move her free limbs, as the evil man above her is ready to inflict more pain upon her. They're interrupted by the tech man again before Jane is further tortured.

"I got through. She's been texting and calling Boston and Local PD. Says here on this encrypted file she's a cop. That's not all... Man, you're not gonna believe this. According to a text she sent earlier, Marco is still alive and in police custody."

"_What?!_"

Knowing he'll want to take his anger out her, Jane improvises. She tries to stall by making threats, hoping it'll scare him somewhat. Anything to buy her time.

"I'm a homicide detective and cops will be here any minute to rescue me. You're all dead men."

"Then I guess we'll just have to speed up our fun, won't we?" The wicked sneer spread wide across his face and as he brings the blade to her sprawled out body, he warns in a bone chilling sinister voice "This is going to hurt a lot."

Jane closes her eyes and sucks in a breath as the boss' arm raises slightly to gain more strike power. He slams the scalpel into her palm and she can't hold in her screams anymore. Her eyes pop open and she cries out in brutal agony louder than she had ever yelled in her entire life, never feeling this much pain.

"Scream all you want, Jane. No one can hear you."

Little did he know, someone did.

* * *

Frost and Maura had just split up from the others just outside of the house and prepared to go in. They crouched as they walked next to the 5 foot tall stone and brick wall. Peeking over, the two see a couple of men guarding the back door and observe their patterned movements.

"I don't see anyone else back here. I think it's just those two. When that one goes towards the pool again, I'll go after the other. Stay behind that bush and cover me, ok?" The detective whispers then boosts Maura up and she plops softly into the yard behind the bush, he follows immediately after.

The guard did the same move as predicted and calmly strolls towards the pool, giving Frost the opportunity to sneak past without being seen. He reaches the other oblivious guard and takes him down with a chokehold, but inadvertently causes him to kick over a potted plant.

Maura watches as Frost wrestles with the man as the other turns around and raises his gun at him. She had no choice but to shoot, the silenced bullet hitting his chest. He flailed his arms as he fell into the pool, not resurfacing.

She is momentarily shocked and numbed by ending a person's life but it passes when she hears a muffled scream coming from inside the house.

"Jane!" She yells and looks for Frost, who had finished taking care of the guard.

With Frost by her side, Maura rushes into the house.

* * *

Both of Jane's hands had scalpels sticking out of them, she knew it was only a matter of minutes, or even seconds, before he killed her.

_'I need to try and stall a little more. But If I am going to die... I can at least be satisfied in getting one last chance at pissing him off.'_ She thinks with a grin that surprises the boss.

"How does it feel knowing they're closing in on you? Even if you kill me they'll still come after you. They'll hunt you down like a pack of wolves. You'll be paranoid and looking over your shoulder until the day my partner ends your life."

Her plan to aggravate him worked, the panic and fury set in when the realization of everything falling apart hit him at once. He loses his cool and yells "Playtime is over!"

He was about to go in for the kill and slice her neck when Maura and Frost swung the basement door open, the boss turns to the intruders. They didn't hesitate using their guns on the monster, the bullets pierced his body, killing him instantly.

Maura drops her gun and rushes over to Jane, pushing the dead body away from her side.

"It hurts... It hurts..." She repeats, letting the tears flow more freely. Jane opens her eyes and sees Maura, her pain is soothed mildly at the beautiful sight.

"Maura..."

"I know... It's ok, Jane. You're safe now, he can't hurt you anymore." Maura brushes stray hair out Jane's face and smiles down at her sweetly.

Frost went to check the pulse of the boss, feeling nothing as expected. "I'm gonna take watch by the door... Maura, you got her?"

"Yes." The doctor replies then looks back at Jane. "Help will be here soon, I promise. You're going to be alright."

"Good... I'm a little sore. I might... have to take off work for a couple of days." Jane manages to joke, her tears had stopped and she was trying to distract herself from the pain but it was still evident in her hoarse voice.

"I think people would understand." Maura chuckles lightly and wonders something. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Have all that strength... It amazes me how incredible you are."

"I have people I love that are worth the fight to stay alive, no matter how hard it is. I don't give up because of them. They're my strength... So are you." Jane weakly smiles up at Maura, her sweet words bringing tears to her eyes. "Sweetie... Why are you crying?"

"I'm just so happy you're alive. I was very worried... I'm so sorry, Jane. I should've given you a chance to explain things. I knew you couldn't be like those people."

"Hey... I don't blame you at all, neither should you. You were just scared. Hell, I would be too if I were you."

Their brief conversation ends when the Ballards and David came to the door.

"Perimeter is secure, all hostiles are down. An ambulance is on the way as well." The lieutenant informs, then goes outside with David to wait for the EMTs.

Maura looked at the deceased boss and gasps, startling the others.

"What's wrong?!" They all ask at the same time.

"I know this man... He used to work at the hospital, but he was fired. That's... That's Dr. Charles Hoyt." She says in disbelief.

* * *

**I just had to make an NCIS reference in this... Kate is my favorite character. Wanted Maura to bring that side out of her and go all badass. **

**How many of you thought Hoyt was the boss? I left a couple _tiny_ hints. Who caught on?**

**Let me know what you think in the reviews! Each one makes my day. :D**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Oops, sorry I'm a little late posting this chapter. Hope you enjoy it! **

**Thanks again for all the nice reviews, and to those who have recently favorited and/or followed this story. I'm beginning to think the smile on my face is permanent. :)**

**No beta, any mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 9

Detective Barry Frost walked through the hospital in the early morning with two fresh hot cups of coffee in hand. The thoughts of last night weighing heavily on his mind. He was glad his partner and best friend was found and alive, but he didn't know just how serious her injuries were yet. After Maura said Jane would be in surgery for hours, Frost decided to go for a walk to clear his mind, but it didn't help much. He knew Maura must be going through hell too, so he came back into the waiting room area where she was and handed her one of the coffee cups.

"Morning, Maura. Figured you might want this."

"Oh, thank you Barry. Morning to you as well."

She takes a long sip of the beverage and relaxes for the first time in nearly 18 hours, Maura also being tense from the night before still.

"How's she doing?" Frost asks quietly, absent mindedly picking at the lid of his cup.

Maura sighs but her voice is hopeful in her response. "She's still in surgery... The doctor came out briefly a few minutes ago to tell me that it's going well and they're almost done."

"That's great news. I knew Jane would be ok, she's tougher than anyone I've ever met. Best partner someone could ask for... Which reminds me, you're a damn good partner too. Thanks for having my back last night. That guard would've killed me while I was taking the other one down."

"You're welcome..." Maura trails off with a sad smile.

"What's wrong?" He asks, immediately noticing something is off in her tone.

"It's just... I never killed someone before. It's scary how fast one's life could end, especially with something as small as a bullet."

"I've been where you are before. I've had to shoot and sometimes kill suspects before. It isn't easy dealing with that, and doesn't get any easier. But I remember why I have to do that in the first place, what justifies my actions. You did what you did to save my life, Jane's, and yours. I'm no therapist, but I bet they'll say the same thing."

"You're probably right, Barry. I can at least take comfort in knowing I won't have to do something like that again." She felt a little better after hearing his words.

Frost gives her an encouraging smile. "There ya go."

They look up and see the doctor walking down the hall towards them and stand to greet her.

"Detective Rizzoli's surgery went extremely well. The lacerations on her neck weren't too deep and were easily repaired with stitching. She had a significant amount of abdominal bruising, but there were no internal injuries due to it. Her ribs will ache for a while though. Her hands were the biggest problem, obviously. Muscles were torn, but luckily nothing major was hit causing no permanent nerve damage. I'm confident in saying they'll heal and she will regain full function in both of them. Possibly within four to six months, but they'll be extremely sore for a while however."

"Thank you. Can we see her now?"

"Of course, right this way."

The doctor starts bringing them back down the hall when Frost's phone buzzes in his pocket.

"Damn... Sorry. Maura, I'll be back there in a little bit. Have to talk to my boss and Ballard. I'm gonna call Jane's mom again, too." He apologizes, then walks the other way again.

Maura continues walking with her colleague until she is brought to Jane's room, one she's been in several times over the years for various patients. It was your typical hospital room, white walls and tile floors.

"Since you're a doctor here too, just make sure she's not in any pain when she wakes up. If you need us at all, you know what to do."

"Thanks, Riley."

Dr. Cooper quietly excused herself to leave Maura alone with Jane, who was sleeping soundly in her bed. Maura smiles to herself seeing how peaceful Jane looked. Her previously pale cheeks now returned to their rosy red color.

When Maura goes to sit at her bedside, Jane mumbles.

"Mau... Maur?"

"Yes it's me. I'm here, Jane." She rubs along her arm gently and soothingly.

Jane opens her eyes slowly and rasps out "Hey."

"Hey."

"Did I win?" Jane asks, her voice laden with exhaustion.

"Win what?"

"The boxing match... My hands. Isn't that why my hands hurt so much earlier?"

Maura frowns at the memory of what really happened to them, but the sadness is overridden quickly by her laugh. Jane is obviously a little out of it from the medicine, but she answers honestly anyway.

"Yes you did. You didn't let him win, you beat him."

"Cool... Did... Did I get a trophy or belt?" Her silly questions continued, but sleep was catching up on her. Jane's voice slurred and she started fading into a sleepy oblivion from the morphine. She closed her eyes and manages a grin, but that slowly fell from her face.

Maura tries her best to quiet her laughter and giggling at the ridiculous questions so she could let Jane sleep. "Yes, I'll show it to you when you wake up. Ok?"

The brunette only hummed in response, already back to sleep. Maura rests her head near Jane's leg but not too close to her hands of course. She soon joins Jane in a deep slumber, a dreamless one from being so tired after the night's events.

* * *

Maura wakes up to see a much more lucid Jane smiling down at her.

"Morning... You look so beautiful."

"Thank you..." Maura blushes at the compliment and couldn't help laughing just a little. "But I must look awful. I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday and my hair is a mess."

"Yet you're still gorgeous... Pretty stupid and reckless too for going into that house. But... I'm really glad you did. Thank you, for saving my life."

"You're welcome. I can't imagine how awful it must have been, I'm so sorry we didn't get there sooner."

"You've got nothing to apologize for. You saved my life, that's what matters. As scared as I was down there, I was more worried for you. He threatened to kill you too. That was worse than anything else he did to me. I had no idea what happened to you after I was grabbed, for all I knew you could've been somewhere else in that house. The entire time I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I know what you mean... I wasn't thinking about my own safety either. My thoughts were focused solely on getting you back. But we're safe now, Jane. We killed him and he can't get any of us anymore."

Jane nods and the two silently agree to change the conversation.

"So did I wake up earlier? My memory is a little fuzzy but I think I was talking to you." At Maura's chuckle, Jane spoke again. "I was, wasn't I? Oh god, what did I say?"

Maura waved it off. "It wasn't anything too bad or embarrassing. You just wanted to know if you won a boxing match... Oh, and if you received an award for beating your opponent."

Jane cracks up with Maura as she looks down at her hands, concealed with thick heavy gauze and bandages.

"They kinda look like gloves... Maybe that's why." She smirks, then her eyes widen. "Oh crap!"

"What is it?"

"Did anyone tell my mother what happened?"

"Barry said he was calling her, why? Is something wrong?"

Jane groans loudly. "Great... She's probably freaking out right now."

"You would've had to have told her at one point, wouldn't you?"

"Well yeah, I can't exactly hide my hands. I just wanted to wait until I got back to Boston to tell her. She's definitely going stir crazy worrying even more about me and I'm thousands of miles away."

The sudden thought of returning to Boston made Jane sad, and the honey blonde noticed her dejected expression.

"That's not all that's bothering you, is it?"

"It's just, what's going to happen to us when I leave for Boston? I mean... How would that work?"

Maura looks at her incredulously and sarcastically asks "You do remember I live in Boston too, right?"

"Does that mean you're going back?" Jane looked so hopeful and was positively beaming at the idea.

Maura, just as happy, replies "Yes I am."

"What about your job here? I don't wanna seem presumptuous, but you're not leaving because of me are you? Don't give things up for me, please."

"I would because I care about you... But that's not the only reason I'm going home. My time for Doctors Without Borders was recently finished and with what just happened I really don't want to be here anyway. Besides, someone I love very much will be in Boston, so I feel compelled to go back."

Jane's heartbeat monitor beeps loudly, but before she could say anything, Maura quickly added "I'm sure Bass misses me very much."

Dark brown eyes narrow at hazel ones, but she knows Maura is just kidding. "If I could throw my pillow at you, I would."

They both laugh at the idle threat, when the laughter dies down, Jane grows serious again.

"There's one more thing I need to talk about. To clear things up for you." At Maura's nod, Jane continued. "Everything I told you about me, besides my job, is the truth. I promise you that. I felt awful lying to you, but I had to. I won't ever again."

"It's ok. I understand completely, you were just doing your job."

_'I knew Frost would be right. She's so amazing.'_ Jane thinks to herself.

"I just want to make sure you know that the person you met and got to know, that is who I am..."

"I trust you, Jane. I really do." Maura assures, and Jane feels some relief.

"I was worried I'd lose you..."

Maura uses one finger to lift Jane's chin up so she could look directly in her eyes. "You're never going to, I promise. I said that I still want to be with you, and we're both going back to Boston. We'll be together, so don't worry."

She kissed Jane sweetly on the lips and sat back in the chair. Jane smiles at her, then looks down at her hands again. "I'm almost afraid to ask... How bad is it?"

"Dr. Cooper told me she is sure you will regain full function in both hands within four to six months, there wasn't any nerve damage fortunately. You'll most likely have to go to therapy to strengthen them up again. She did warn that they'll be sore for a while, so don't let that discourage you."

She sighs in understanding. "I guess it could be a lot worse. At least this means I can still be a detective."

Maura looks at her, full of curiosity, and Jane can practically hear all of the questions buzzing around in her head.

"Are you able to tell me a little about that now? I mean, only if you want to and are up to it of course."

"The case is over, so yeah. Let's see... I'll start from the beginning. I had just turned 21 and signed up for the police academy, one of the few girls who did. By the time graduation rolled around, there was only two others left besides myself. I started on patrol and did that for a few years and worked my way up to detective eventually. I was in the drug unit first for a while before my spot in homicide opened up. I jumped at the chance, I was so excited. It had been my dream for years to be a homicide detective and I finally achieved it. Frost was with me the whole way too, which made the experience even better. Seven years later, here we are."

Maura is eager to hear more, but decides to save questions for later when Jane isn't as tired.

"Sounds like you really love your work. If you wanted to share, I would love to hear stories someday."

"Yeah, I love what I do. Just like you... And I wouldn't mind telling you some stories at all. I've got plenty."

* * *

After a little while, Frost knocks at the door and peeks his head in.

"Hey partner. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He asks, and both women shake their head and urge him to enter the room.

"What? No flowers?" Jane jokes when she sees him empty handed.

"Thought about it, but something girly like that would've cramped badass Jane Rizzoli's style. I'll get a dozen bottles of your favorite beer when we go home, how's that sound?"

"Sounds great." Her smile stays on her face as she thanks him too. "Thanks for saving me, I knew you wouldn't stop until you did."

"That's what partners are for."

She knows her best friend and has to ask. "How're you doing?"

"Much better now." He pauses and sighs. "I'm really sorry I didn't go with you to Maura's house yesterday... I should've been there for you. I was hesitant about letting you go by yourself, but didn't listen to my gut."

"Forget about it. I'm gonna fine, I've got the best doctor in the world as a girlfriend. I think I'm good." She jokes, trying ease his guilt some. It seemed to help a little, so she asked "What's going on with the case?"

"Oh, should I leave?" Maura starts to stand up to go, but Frost stops her.

"No. It's alright, you can stay if you want. You know pretty much everything anyway, so no harm in hearing this."

"Sit with me?" Jane asks, using her elbow to pat the spot next to her.

"That would be against hosp-"

"I'm not gonna tattle on you, Maur. C'mon, sit with me? Please?" Jane interrupts and scoots over to make room for her.

Maura smiles at the slight pout she receives, and after a moment finally sits next to Jane. The adorable pout turns into a mega watt smile that causes Maura to fall even more deeply in love with her than she already was.

Frost begins filling them in on everything that has happened during the last several hours after Maura got settled as comfortably as she could. She never laid in these beds before and now realizes why the patients would sometimes complain about them.

"Ian and Marco are talking up a storm like you wouldn't believe. They're so scared Hoyt's coming after them they're telling us everything."

Jane chuckles "You didn't tell them the boss man is dead, huh?"

"Nope, gonna let them sweat it out for a couple more hours. It's not like we're _not_ telling them, we just never said he was alive or dead. They're volunteering the information they have. Ballard and Cavanaugh are loving it... After you were brought here, Trevor told me they found books, ledgers, and other notes in the house. They're filled with names and photos of people that are getting arrested right about now. Anyone involved in the main operation is being taken in, and a few others too. Close to a hundred names. Found some... Souvenirs too." He nearly gags over the memory of whatever they were, apparently very disgusting. Jane knew he was easily grossed out so she didn't push for specifics and let him finish up. "Hoyt's been linked to around two dozen murders. So there's at least some justice and peace for their families."

Maura shudders and remarks "I remember him from when I started working here. I couldn't forget him. He was odd, very creepy and overly fond of dead bodies. I'd often see him wandering around the morgue early hours of the morning when I would start my shift."

"Ew... That's gross. How did he get fired anyway?" Jane asks as she stretches her arm and carefully lays her hand back down on the soft pillow.

"He was caught stealing various kinds of medicine. Some tools and other supplies as well. No charges were filed but the hospital didn't want him working here anymore. I haven't seen or heard from him in nearly 5 years... until yesterday that is."

"Ugh. Let's not talk about him anymore..." Jane says, Maura and Frost happy to agree.

They find more positive things to talk about for a few minutes when Jane remembers something to ask Frost.

"By the way, what did you tell my mother? She's probably worried sick and I wouldn't be surprised if she was boarding a plane right now because of you."

Frost raised his hands up in a surrendering manner. "Hey! I know your Ma pretty well after all these years. Angela's like a mother to me, I wouldn't want her worrying either. All I told her was that you got hurt, but you're going to be just fine. After I calmed her down, which no surprise took a while, I said we're coming home very soon. She expects to hear from you before then though."

"You didn't say _how_ I got hurt?" Jane asks warily.

"No, I figured that could wait. She's already had enough on her mind with us being away for this long."

"She's gonna want to know why my hands are bandaged up... I wanna wait a little while before I tell her the reason. Hey, Maur? You're really smart, can you think of something to tell her in the meantime?" Jane jokingly asks.

"I'm sorry, but I can't lie."

"Why not?"

Maura shrugs her shoulders and explains "If I lie, I'll immediately go vasovagal or get hives."

"Vaso-what?"

"Vasovagal... Fainting." Maura elaborates.

Jane and Frost laugh, and the brunette woman asks "What about white lies?"

"They're still lies."

"You mean to tell me you've never been with someone and told them they were good in bed when they weren't?"

"No." She answers, as if it were obvious.

"Well I feel pretty damn good about myself." Jane jokes, a little smug.

"You certainly should." Maura says proudly and arches an eyebrow.

Frost groans and waves his hands around to make them stop. "I love you guys, but please keep your sex life to yourselves!"

Jane and Maura laughs at his discomfiting expression as they unconsciously snuggle closer to one another.

"Just wait until we find you a girl, then you can stop being so jealous of us." Jane teases him, and the detective rolls his eyes.

Frost looks at his watch and says "Gotta go. I have some things to finish up at the police station with the guys, but I'll come by later."

"Alright, I'll see you later then. Bring food! You know how I feel about the stuff they have in hospitals."

He chuckles and nods as he waves bye to both of them, then closes the door.

"I should probably go as well. You need rest and I need to shower and get a fresh change of clothes. I'll come back as soon as I can, ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds fine." Jane fails miserably at hiding her disappointment from Maura leaving, but manages to crack another joke to ease the saddened atmosphere. "I'll be here when you get back."

"Do you want me to bring something, or do you need something before I go?"

Jane looks at her coyly. "I don't know... Maybe if someone were to kiss me, it would make the wait feel a whole lot better."

Maura laughs and rolls her eyes, grinning as she leaned in closer to her girlfriend. She plants a long hard kiss on Jane's lips, cupping her cheek and brushing her thumb across it.

When she had to pull away, Jane stared directly into her eyes and whispered "I wish I could wrap my arms around you right now. Let my hands roam your body and _feel_ you..."

Maura knows exactly what Jane meant by feeling her and pretends to admonish the sexual insinuation at first. "Jane... We'll be back to that in good time. A doctor will check on your hands in a few hours, get some rest."

She winks and kisses her once more, the taste of their lips lingering on each other's. The tired detective falls asleep with a smile on her face and starts snoring before Maura has the chance to pick up her purse from the chair she was sitting in earlier.

Maura couldn't help but kiss her again, on the forehead this time. She looked like she was already dreaming. So she didn't wake her, Maura softly whispered "I love you."

With that, Maura quietly walked away and gently closes the door behind her.

* * *

**Some fluff relief for ya after the last two intense chapters. :D**

**It's time for everyone to finally go home now. I wonder what's gonna happen when they get there. ;) **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Big thank you to all those who serve or have served in the military. I hope you all had a great Memorial Day! :)**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 10

A little over a week later, Jane is released from the hospital. Her, Maura, and Frost had just said their goodbyes to the nurses and made their way to the hospital's front entrance.

"Remind me again why I'm being pushed out in a wheelchair? My hands were hurt, not my legs." Jane points out while gesturing to her hands, the bandages on them were not as thick as a few days ago.

Maura just smiles lovingly and rolls her eyes as she wheels Jane out towards the exit.

"You know exactly why, Jane. The only reason you're agreeing to a rule for once is because Maura asked you to. All she did was ask _one_ time. Man, you're whipped." Frost snickers as he teases her.

Jane only grumbles under her breath in response because she knows he's right. When she doesn't say anything back, he cracks up laughing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought Rizzoli."

Jane had to chuckle at that, she loved their friendship and all the sarcasm that came with it. "You know what? I don't need my hands to kick your ass."

They continue to go outside with their friendly banter where Maura has her jeep parked.

"I'm gonna miss that sweet Camaro." Frost commented sadly as they got to the wrangler.

Jane hops out of the wheelchair and says "Yeah, me too... But I miss my BPD sedan even more. Not just because it looks cool."

Frost understands what Jane means, their sedans were nothing special to anyone else but to them they held a lot of memories. So much history went down either in those cars or near them. Jane made her first arrest as a detective when she slammed a murderer down on the hood of her car to cuff him. They both had their fair share of car chases and a few accidents, and once had to duck behind the car during a gun fight.

While Frost and Jane take a trip down memory lane together, Dr. Cooper takes the wheelchair from Maura.

"I'm gonna miss having you work here. I don't think there's going to be a finer doctor to ever set foot in this building."

"Thank you, Riley. I'll miss you too. It was always great working with you. You're an exceptional doctor as well. This hospital should be honored to have you here."

Riley brings Maura into a hug and says "Keep in touch, will ya?"

"Of course I will." Maura responds when the hug ends.

Riley turns to Jane and tells her "Good luck in all of your therapies. I know you will come back just as strong as before, if not stronger."

"Thank you, doctor." She says with a smile.

"And it was a pleasure meeting you too, Detective Frost..." She shakes his hand and then speaks to everyone. "I hope we can all see each other again sometime."

They all say their goodbyes as she wheels the chair back inside, then the three get into the jeep.

On the way to Maura's house, they talk about their plans for that night and the next morning.

"We have everything packed and ready to go, so we can have a relaxing night." Frost says as he puts the visor down to block the blinding sun from hitting his eyes.

"That sounds perfect, and very much needed. How about we just order take out and watch a movie?" Maura suggests.

Jane exchanges a look with her partner from the backseat and both say "Great idea."

"I have the perfect place." She says, then turns the corner.

They stop inside the small Chinese restaurant and order all of their favorite things before heading back to Maura's house.

Most of her belongings are packed away in boxes and Jane wonders how she did it all so fast.

"Hey, Maur? How you do all this within a week? You were at the hospital a lot."

"Barry helped me actually."

"There wasn't much to pack, so it didn't take long. Besides, your way of packing is a lot longer. You always stop in the middle to watch a game with Frankie and Tommy."

"I do not..." She starts to argue with Frost, then pauses and knows she will be caught in an obvious lie. "... Not _every_ time."

The three laugh, then Frost and Jane go through the packed box filled with DVDs and proceed to bicker over what to watch.

"It's Maura's house, she should choose anyway." Jane says and looks over at Maura, who was giggling at the playful argument over what movie to put in.

"Don't look at me. I can't decide either, and I wouldn't want one or both you being unhappy with my choice. Isn't there a different movie you could agree on and watch your other choices another time?"

"I guess that's fair." Frost shrugs, fine with the suggestion as is Jane.

They continue looking through the large box of movies, and the detectives gasp simultaneously.

"Yesss!"

Both grab the same DVD and smirk at one another. The trio settle into the couch and eat the still hot and fresh food from their containers as the movie starts playing.

Jane has difficulty at first gripping her fork, both Frost and Maura watch as she struggles but are impressed when she figures it out. Slipping the fork between two fingers, Jane is successfully able to pick up food without dropping it.

"What?" She says when she realizes they were staring. "I may not be able to move my hands completely yet but my fingers are uncovered and I can use them a little."

"No, we were just impressed with how well you adjusted, and so quickly too."

Jane blushes at Maura's words and thanks her, and then they focused back on the movie.

"I know this could never really happen, and I'm grasping the plot pretty well... But there's just one thing I don't get." Maura says to the two of them after a few minutes.

"What's that, babe?" Jane asks.

"If Kyle says nothing dead can travel through time, like clothes and weapons, then how could the terminator go through?"

"A valid point there... But remember what else Kyle said? That the terminator is a living organism, it has skin and can even bleed. It's from the future so there's a bunch of cool technology we can't comprehend. It's complicated and confusing, but you get it a little bit now?"

"Yes, I think so. I'm a very realistic person, I suppose that's why I'm having difficulty."

Jane just grins and they finish eating their food in comfortable silence, only speaking to comment about certain parts of the movie.

The food is long gone by the time the movie is over, just as the credits start to roll Maura quietly yawns. Jane thinks it's the most adorable thing in the world and is unable to resist leaning over to kiss her on the top of her head. Maura was under her arm and relaxed in her embrace, she sighed in content when she felt Jane's lips press down softly against her.

"We should go to bed, it's getting really late and we have an early flight tomorrow morning." Maura says after extricating herself from Jane's arms and gets up from the couch. Both miss the contact immediately.

They throw away the empty containers and put what little food was left in Maura's fridge.

"Barry, there's a bathroom in my guest bedroom you're more than welcome to use. Fresh towels and other linens should still be in the closet, so please help yourself to the shower. You can also use the laundry room if you have clothes you would like to wash."

"Thanks, Maura. I'll be sure to do that. Goodnight you guys, see ya in the morning."

Frost walks down the hall to the guest bedroom and closed the door.

"Maur, you mind if I shower too?"

"Of course not, Jane."

Maura can see Jane fidget, obviously a little embarrassed to ask something. She doesn't like to guess but has a pretty good idea what the problem might be.

"I'll start the shower... And undress you if you like." She winks and speaks in a low seductive tone.

* * *

The honey blonde leads Jane into her master bathroom, where she is stopped and pressed up against the sink.

Jane kisses Maura tenderly while carefully hooking her thumbs under thin dress straps, sliding them off her shoulders. It drops to their feet and Maura gasps at the sudden rush of cool air.

Jane's hands behind Maura's back but hesitates. "Um... Can you... Uh. Help me out here. Can't get that off."

Maura waits for Jane to move her hands and reaches behind to unclasp the black lace piece of clothing. That too joins her dress on the bathroom floor. Maura doesn't waste time before removing Jane's shirt. She presses a palm against her toned abs, making Jane moan.

"God, Maur... The things you do to me. You've barely touched me and I'm already soaked because of you."

"Mmm... I can't wait to find out just how soaked you are." Maura finishes undressing Jane, the emotional and intimate moment turning them on even more.

Jane delicately brushes a finger across Maura's cheek, the smaller woman sighing at the touch. They lean in for another earth shattering kiss, breaking from it when the need for air becomes too great.

Maura goes to turn on the shower, but doesn't get in right away. She can't keep her lips away from Jane's for too long and goes in for a third kiss, the steam from the hot water fills the room within minutes.

They break from the kiss and finally get into the shower. Jane winces at the contact of water against her bandaged hands but relaxes when the hot water soothes the aches in them.

Maura seductively runs her hands through Jane's wild mane, spreading and lathering the shampoo in it. Jane closed her eyes in complete bliss and happiness.

When Maura was finished with that, she kneels to the shower floor to wash her legs and more sensually, her ass, squeezing them with reverence. She slowly lathered the soap and body wash along every inch of her, then let the water rinse it down the drain. Jane opens her eyes and groans when she feels Maura's tongue glide up her thighs a few minutes later.

"Maura..." She breathily murmured, missing the smirk while Maura continues her path upwards.

Her tongue teases her entrance for a moment, but she doesn't want to wait any longer to taste her. Maura pushes her tongue in and Jane nearly screams. She alternates between licking and sucking until Jane's legs start to wobble. Maura can tell she's close so she inserts a single digit and curls it upwards and touches those soft walls.

Only 30 seconds of this had passed when Jane finally came. Maura stands and grips her hips to hold her up, then kisses the detective back to her senses.

Jane rests her hands on Maura's shoulders and waits for her ragged breathing to calm as the shower's water started to get a little bit cold.

"Let's get dried off."

"What about you?" Jane asks.

"I'll get a proper shower in the morning."

Jane smirks and says "That's not what I meant."

"I know... But this isn't about me. I wanted to please you."

"You did that... Very. Very. Well." Jane accentuates each word with a kiss sweeter than the one before. "I want to make love to you... And I plan on doing just that. I won't let this injury stop me."

Maura smiles and nods, then the two get out to dry off. She changes Jane's bandages for her and they go to the bedroom without putting clothes on.

Jane lies down on the bed then instructs Maura to get on top of her. She does so, and their centers touch.

"Oh..." Maura gasps, and Jane rocks into her.

"I love feeling you against me like this. It's so hot..."

All Maura can do is moan and continues grinding into Jane as she whispers sweet nothings to her.

Jane senses her starting to unravel. "That's it baby... Come for me."

"Ahh... _Jaaaanneee_!" She yells and collapses onto Jane's chest out breath.

She kisses Jane's breast and trails her lips up to meet Jane's, both smiling into the kiss.

"I love you, Maura Isles."

Maura feels the tears well up in her eyes and replies "I love you, too."

They continued making love until they fell asleep, happier than either had ever been in their entire lives.

* * *

The next morning all three, especially Jane and Maura for obvious reasons, wake up feeling very refreshed despite the early hour.

Maura gets up to make fresh coffee in her special machine, Jane and Frost join her in the kitchen to watch the long process.

"The joy of controlling how the hot water rises before a torrent of pressure penetrates the tamped beans." Maura smiles as the hot water makes a burning sizzling noise.

"Ok, I'm done watching coffee porn." Jane laughs and goes to look for instant but doesn't find any.

"I'll go get us some coffee, you don't have to do all this." Frost offers, feeling guilty and also just in need of some coffee.

"You two are so impatient. Trust me, this will be worth it." Maura assures, and then the coffee is finally done.

After putting it in some mugs, Jane and Frost blow on it to cool it down some before taking a sip.

"Wow... This is amazing. Now I know why you go through all that. It makes it taste so good." Jane takes another sip of the delicious beverage.

Frost is clearly enjoying his too much to say a word, and Maura smiles proudly at the two. She drinks from her mug for a few minutes and says "I'm going to get a shower, I'll be back in about 20 minutes."

Frost and Jane sit at the kitchen counter drinking their coffee. Jane can't wipe the grin off her face, and he notices.

"You look really happy... it's like you're glowing almost. What's up?"

"Last night... We said we loved each other."

He isn't shocked at all hearing this, it was obvious Jane loved Maura the second she saw her. "I'm really happy for you two, congrats. You guys are perfect for each other."

"Thanks, man."

They talk about random things for a half an hour when Maura walks back into the room and places her arm around Jane's waist.

"We have a car coming for us and our stuff. There's a café in the airport we can have breakfast in before we get on the plane. I know how you two feel about airplane food, I don't really like it myself either."

Jane and Frost agree that's a good idea and they all get their bags ready to go. 10 minutes later, a car arrives and takes them to the airport.

They take their time eating, in no rush at all. Making small talk until their number is called. When they get up and head to the gate, they hear voices calling after them. Jane, Maura, and Frost all turn to see the Ballard men and David standing there.

"We had to see you guys off. Couldn't let you leave without saying a proper goodbye to all three of you, now could we?" The lieutenant rhetorically asks.

The four men had been in the hospital to see Jane, and had spoken with Maura and Frost at the precinct but most of the talk was about the case. They said their farewells to them separately but wanted to see them one last time.

"Just had to thank you all again for your help and incredible work. We wish you guys nothing but the best of luck and happiness in your lives."

The three of them thank James for his kind words, and give them all hugs goodbye. The final calling for their flight was announced over the loud-speaker just as Jane hugged the lieutenant.

"That's us. I'm sure we'll see each other again sometime. It was an honor working with all of you. Trevor, it looks like we'll spar next time, huh?"

"You got it, Frost."

David and the Ballard's say goodbye again and wave as the three walk to security, which only took a few minutes to go through. There wasn't any lines or waiting to board the plane, so they got on right away.

"I'm definitely not going to be able to open the peanuts." Jane jokes with Frost as they sit down.

"Like you could so well before." Frost mutters with a small chuckle.

Jane smirks but ignores him and comments "First class is really nice. Way better than coach. Oh, sweet! We each have our own little TV to watch a movie."

Maura had made sure to upgrade their tickets to first class, the two detectives said no and that it wasn't necessary but she insisted and there was no arguing with her. Both knew how stubborn she could be, just like Jane. They figured they would just let it go and pay her back somehow without her realizing, but knew it would be a difficult task seeing as how smart she was.

This flight was much more comfortable, and since they were wide awake they didn't fall asleep towards the end of the flight, only to be woken by captain's voice telling them to buckle their seat belts. Now their batteries were fully charged when the plane touched down.

* * *

The excitement of finally being back home in Boston was unmistakable among the small group. The weather was definitely not as hot as Stad Van Hitte, which was a welcomed relief by each of them.

"It feels so damn good to be home finally." Jane remarks as they go through Logan International Airport, Maura and Frost are quick to agree.

Outside, there's a taxi truck yet to pick up any passengers. So Frost hurries over before someone else has a chance and tells him they need a ride. The man gets out and helps Frost with their bags and places them in the large and very spacious trunk.

"When do you have to pick up Bass?" Jane asks Maura, was watching the busy Boston streets she missed so much.

"Tomorrow, before my friend has to go to work."

"That works out perfectly... Would you wanna meet my Ma and have dinner at my house?" Then Jane blurts out nervously "Unless you think it's too soon to meet her and stuff or have to do something else."

Maura kisses her and says "It isn't too soon and I would love to meet your mother. Dinner sounds wonderful. Is what I'm wearing suitable?"

After a happy sigh of relief, Jane says "You look amazing as always. Ma won't care what you wear."

"My mothers and step brother will be there, too. I think this is supposed to be a welcome home dinner."

Frost saying his mothers being there reminded Jane of something. "You think Robin brought her potato salad? Hers is the best!"

"Knowing her, probably. Can't wait to have your grandmother's famous gnocchi. Your Ma is one hell of a cook."

Just hearing them get excited made Maura more excited than she already was. The truck finally arrives at Angela's house and pulls into the driveway. The cabbie gets out to once again assist with the bags, Jane has him place hers and Maura's by her car to be put in the trunk when she gets the keys from Frankie. She had given them to him for safe keeping before she left.

"Your childhood home is beautiful, I can tell a lot of fun memories must have occurred here. It's a very warm and inviting house, so much love." Maura comments on Angela's house, the place where Jane grew up and spends her free time.

"Thanks. I wonder why my mother hasn't run out of the house yet screa-"

"JANIE!"

Jane chuckles. _'Speak of the devil...'_

Angela stood in the doorway and bolts over to Jane, and carefully but tightly envelopes her into a hug.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli, don't you _dare_ leave me ever again. Oh my poor baby."

Maura nearly wept at the beautiful and happy reunion as she and Frost stood to the side watching the display.

"I missed you too, Ma. So much."

The Rizzoli matriarch squeezes a little tighter before releasing her grip, then smiles at Maura.

"This must be the famous Maura my Janie hasn't stopped talking about."

Jane blushes at this, and Maura goes to greet Angela politely with a handshake. "Mrs. Rizzoli, it's so great to finally meet you. Jane told me a lot about you."

The handshake is ignored, and Maura is brought into a tight hug as well.

"It's great to meet you too, sweetie. I always wanted a doctor in the family!"

"_Ma!_" Jane yells at her as her blush gets darker, but Maura giggles and is completely alright with what her mother said.

"And you Barry Frost! Don't think you can get out of a hug from me either mister." She wraps her arms around him and he hugs back without protest. "It's good to have you back, honey. Your mothers and brother are in the house with my boys. We're making dinner. You three must be famished after such a long flight, come in, come in."

"We sure are, Ma. I can already smell the food, you made my favorite didn't you?"

"I sure did, sweetie."

They all go into the house, Maura by Jane's side and she couldn't help thinking _'Everything is perfect. I have the love of my life and my family, all here under the same roof. Life couldn't get any better.'_

* * *

**Some smut and soooo much fluff. Excited to read what you guys think. :)**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Sorry for another delay. Was really busy the last couple of days. Just two or three chapters left, unless I think of something to add of course. :)**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 11

After dinner was over, Maura, Angela, and Camille were doing the dishes together and making small talk while everyone else was relaxing in the living room.

"Maura, I couldn't help notice the way you and Jane were looking at each other. You two must be real close, huh?" Angela comments, her tone conveyed honesty and curiosity, not meaning to come off as nosy, which Maura understood.

"I care about Jane a lot. She's a wonderful person."

"It's obvious Janie cares a lot about you, too."

_'I have a feeling it goes deeper than that. They're definitely in love with each other. I wonder if they said it already.'_ Angela thinks to herself as she runs hot water over a soapy dish.

Maura smiles, knowing just how much Jane cares for her. The three move on to talk about other things while finishing the rest of the dishes together.

Back in the living room, Jane and the guys were talking about the case in Africa.

"And they really fell for it?" Tommy asks, fascinated by his big sister's story of how she faked Marco's death.

"Yeah. Frost and I are damn lucky they did. Even more so since the cops found him and kept him safe for us."

Jane and Frost went back and forth commenting about each part of the case, and what they did in their down time. Everyone couldn't believe how brave Maura was going with Frost to the house to save Jane, and saving him at one point, too.

"How are your hands?" Korsak asks gently, wanting to be careful in case it was a touchy subject.

"Doc said they're gonna be fine within a few months and I'll be good as new." She shrugs, not wanting to make a bigger deal out of it than it was.

"That's great news, Jane. Does that mean Jo can stay with me until then?"

"If you wanted sleepovers with my dog so badly, all you had to was ask. You know she loves you." Jane couldn't help teasing him.

Just then, TJ and Cameron interrupt and ask if they can use the swings in the backyard. While the others go out back for some fresh air, Jane goes into the kitchen where Maura is. She walks up behind Maura and puts her arms around her waist and kisses her cheek.

Angela and Camille couldn't contain their squeals of happiness, both finding the new couple adorable.

"You ladies talking about me?" Jane playfully asks as she sways with Maura, who cranes her neck slightly to give her a peck on the lips.

"Only good things..."

Jane fakes a wary look and mumbles "Uh huh..." Then, she whispers in her ear only loud enough for her to hear. "Maybe I'll just have to interrogate you later."

Maura almost went weak in the knees feeling her hot breath against her like that, and covers up her shudder of arousal by turning into Jane's embrace to face her.

"It's getting late, we should go soon."

Jane knows the almost urgent look in her eyes and says to her mother "Maura's gonna drive me home, help me unpack some."

"Oh no, sweetie I wouldn't want to trouble you I can-"

"That's very nice of you to do, Maura. Thank you." Camille interrupts Angela and glances her way, who looks at her quizzically before finally catching on.

"Yeah, as long as you don't mind." Angela replies casually, hiding her sudden change in demeanor well. Or so she thinks...

"It's no problem, Mrs. Rizzoli."

"Angela, please." She insists after giving her a goodbye hug, and one to Jane as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ma... Camille, it was great seeing you again. You said you'll be in Boston another week?"

"We'll be leaving next Tuesday."

"Alright. I'll make sure we get together before then. We go so long without seeing you guys."

Jane hugs Frost's mom and then brings Maura out back to where the others are. TJ runs over to Maura, eager to talk to his new friend about how high he can swing all by himself. Cavanaugh appears beside Jane as she watches the funny interaction unfold.

"Hey, Rizzoli. Think you can be at BPD tomorrow morning, around 8?"

"Sure thing. Am I in trouble?"

"Do you think you should be?"

Jane laughs but shakes her head. "I'm pleading the fifth on that one, sir."

"Wise choice..." He grins, then pats her shoulder. "I'll be seeing you bright and early then."

Maura just said goodbye to her buddy TJ and walked back over to Jane, who gives Maura the keys to the sedan.

"I figured you would want to drive."

"You honestly thought I would let you?" She smirked.

"Maybe... But then I thought how cool you would look driving a cop car and decided to let you take the wheel." She jokes then turns to Frost just arms length away. "Hey partner, I'm heading out now."

"Alright. Remember, I owe you some beer so I'll be by your place soon."

"I would never forget the promise of beer, my friend. Night."

Jane and Maura say goodnight to the others as well before getting in the car.

"Ma and Camille weren't very subtle, were they?" Jane laughs.

Maura puts a hand on Jane's thigh. "No... But I don't care how I get you alone, just as long as I can."

Jane's gaze darkens and she licks her lips. "Your place or mine?"

"Mine would be preferable. You could leave a few of your things there if you wanted, that way when you spend the night in the future you have something there."

Jane quirks an eyebrow and teases "Are you expecting that to happen a lot?"

Maura's lips curled up, showing off her dimples. She presses down on the gas pedal when the light they were stopped at finally turns green.

* * *

They arrive at Maura's home in Beacon Hill some time later. Her house in Africa was beautiful, but it was nothing compared this house.

"I don't think I've ever seen a nicer place than this." Jane comments as she gets out of the car.

"Thanks, I've really missed it here. I'm glad I came back."

"I'm glad, too."

When Maura opens the trunk, Jane reaches for one of the bags, only to be playfully swatted away on her arm.

"Hey!" Jane pretends to be hurt and shocked, but Maura sees right through it.

"I don't want you to aggravate your injury."

"Maur, trust me. I'm not going to use my hands."

Jane carefully loops an arm through the straps of one of the bags, successfully hanging it on her forearm. She proudly sticks out her tongue while Maura simply rolls her eyes and gets another bag. They go up the short path to the front door, Maura unlocks it and flicks on the lights.

"Please excuse the mess, I haven't been here in a while. The cleaning lady doesn't come here that often and I forgot to have them come here within the past couple of weeks."

Jane looks around, trying to figure out what Maura's talking about. She has pretty good vision, and didn't see even the thinnest coat of dust on the nearest surface. "What mess? This place is spotless."

"Oh, well thank you. I always get a little nervous about someone seeing my house being untidy."

"You never have to worry about that with me."

Maura smiles then suggests "We can unpack now, or just leave it for tomorrow and we relax."

They exchange a look, and both know the obvious answer without uttering a word.

"I'll go get some blankets for us." She takes the bag from Jane's arm and disappears down the hall with it.

Jane walks a few feet over to a table behind Maura's large white couch and sees a couple framed photos. Getting closer she sees they're of Maura throughout her life, and she smiles at how happy she looks.

Maura comes back with two blankets and sets them on the couch and joins Jane.

"That's from the day I graduated medical school. Originally, I had studied to be a Medical Examiner but before I could start my career I decided to go to Africa and help out there." Maura recalls, smiling at the photo of one of her most proudest moments.

"You're amazing." Jane says, in complete admiration and awe.

"Thank you. I think you're amazing, too." Maura blushes, then they sit on the couch with the blankets. "I got us two blankets because in the short time we've spent sharing a bed, I've learned you can be a bit of a blanket stealer."

"What? I am not!" Jane laughs, but both know she is.

"Mmmhmm, sure. I believe you."

"So tell me more about wanting to be an M.E.?" Jane asks.

"I wanted to be a medical examiner so I could speak for the dead. I can give peace to families and loved ones. Although I loved what I did in Africa, I feel it's time for a change. I'm thinking of pursuing the career again."

"That's great, Maur. I'm really happy for you." Jane can see the excitement and passion in Maura's eyes, something she admires a lot.

"You don't think it's morbid and creepy?"

"Not at all, I'm used to it anyway. I sometimes like to be there for an autopsy so I'll know right away if we get something that'll solve a case. Frost on the other hand, he has trouble keeping his lunch down with that kind of stuff." Jane chuckles, several hilarious moments of her beloved partner and best friend getting sick at crime scenes and her always friendly teasing him.

"That's unfortunate, poor Barry. A lot of people have difficulty with this, he just needs to find his morgue legs. Immersion therapy can be very effective."

"Good luck with that. He won't go anywhere near the morgue anymore after what he saw. My other partner Korsak, the one you met tonight, teases him relentlessly about it."

* * *

Eventually, they decide to turn on the TV. With heels and boots off, Jane and Maura snuggle close under their blankets.

"There's a Red Sox game on, do you want to watch?"

"You don't have to ask me twice!" Jane answers with enthusiasm, excited to see her home team play after missing games for a month.

"Way to go, Lester! C'mon, one more strike!" Jane cheers enthusiastically at the TV. Maura is very much entertained by the game and amused by Jane's shouting, which increased in volume when Lester struck out the player at bat.

When the 7th inning rolled around, both women were fast asleep, too tired to stay awake until the end of the game.

_"Jane..."_

_Jane slowly comes to and sees Charles Hoyt hovering over her, and stiffens immediately._

_"Oh it's ok, baby. Shh. Don't be scared." Hoyt has a scalpel on her cheek as he whispers his feigned concern._

_"No... You're dead." Her eyes widen in fear. She realizes they're back in that torture chamber of a basement._

_"We never finished having fun. You're my greatest victim, able to withstand so much. That pretty blonde girlfriend of yours... She couldn't hold out as long as you."_

_"No! No no no... What did you do to her?! Where's Maura?!"_

_He didn't answer her, just did that same evil sneer as in the basement, and looked over to the other side of the room. Jane followed his line of sight and saw a pool of blood on the floor around a dark figure._

_When she focused her eyes more, Jane saw the figure was Maura. Her throat had been cut, eyes still open but empty and lifeless. The light that shined in them vanished._

_"Maura!" Jane cried out._

_"Don't worry, you'll be joining her soon."_

"No!" Jane yells as she wakes up drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

Maura jolts awake after hearing Jane yell. She takes a moment to adjust from her sleepy state and asks "What's wrong?"

Jane remains silent, unable to speak and begins to shake. When Maura sees the detective tremble, she scoots over slowly to be closer to her.

"Jane." She whispers, as to not frighten her.

Terrified brown eyes meet concerned hazel ones.

"I..." Jane pauses. "I had a nightmare. About Hoyt. It seemed so real."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Maura gently asks, wrapping her arms around Jane.

It took her a couple of minutes to calm down, but she gave a brief description of her nightmare. "We were back in the basement again... I woke up on the floor and he was above me, just like before. He killed you... I saw- Oh god, Maur."

She broke down and sobbed in Maura's arms, unable to finish the rest of that sentence. Wanting to never think about that image again.

"I'm alive, we both are. It's ok, Jane." She whispers the same comforting words to her while rubbing her back soothingly and pressing her lips to Jane's head.

When crying subsides into little hiccups, Jane sniffles and says "My hands... They're throbbing."

"I could try a massaging technique if you'd like?"

At Jane's nod, Maura begins to take the bandages off. On the very last one Jane winces and Maura stops her movements.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No... It was the scars. I never really got a good look at them yet. They're always covered."

Maura begins the massage slowly, Jane's hands are sore to the touch at first but the pain dulls some as the minutes go by.

"They make me feel ugly and broken." Jane murmurs sorrowfully while avoiding staring directly at her hands.

Maura pauses her ministrations in disbelief of Jane's words, but continues them a second later. "You shouldn't feel that way. These scars are beautiful to me."

Jane scoffs, not rudely but in amazement and wonder. "Why?"

"They're a reminder of how strong and brave you are... That you're a survivor. I'm grateful I'm able to look at them now, with you alive and well. I can't even begin to process the thought of what could've happened if Barry and I got there just a few seconds later."

The lanky brunette feels better physically and emotionally and leans over to kiss Maura. "Thank you."

'Thank you for saying that. Thank you for the massage. For saving me. For loving me and still being there by my side.'

Maura didn't hear these words out loud, but could feel them in that kiss.

"We should go to bed, the couch will give us back pain."

They get up and go to the bedroom and slip under the covers together.

"Talk to me until I fall asleep?" Jane asks in a whisper.

Maura knows she needs a distraction and chooses a funny memory from her childhood.

"When I was little, my mother would sometimes lock away the TV so I could focus on my education more. I learned how to pick a lock and would sneak in the TV room and watch it without her knowing."

"You were such a devious kid." Jane laughs. "I have a feeling you're going to be a bad influence on me."

This time when they fall asleep together, Jane has happier dreams.

* * *

Jane wakes to see Maura tucked into her side, who was still sleeping, and thought back to last night.

_'I'm so lucky to have her...'_

As soon as Maura begins to stir, she tightens her grip around Jane and nuzzled in closer before leaning up to kiss her on the cheek.

"Morning."

"Morning." Jane repeats and kisses her back.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I actually don't think I've slept this great in a long time. Must have something to do with a certain beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, intelligent woman I'm in love with that's sleeping in the same bed as me."

Jane didn't have time to blink before Maura climbed on top of her, their lips met in a furiously passionate kiss. Just as Jane went to deepen it, Maura's cellphone rang.

"Ignore it." Jane growls and sucks at Maura's neck before reconnecting their lips again.

The phone rang a second time, and both groaned as Maura maneuvered off of Jane and went to answer her phone.

"It could be an emergency."

She took the call as Jane nipped and kissed along her shoulder. "Oh... H-hello, Lorraine." Maura bit her lip to stop the moan from escaping her. "I can be there by noon, yes. I look forward to seeing you, too. Bye."

Maura ends the call and tries her best to glare at an innocent looking Jane Rizzoli, but fails miserably. "You're very distracting."

"I didn't see you try to stop me."

"I'm powerless when you touch me..." Jane grins at Maura's words and tries to continue what they started but she was stopped. "I have to pick up Bass soon, did you want to go with me?"

"Sorry, I can't. I have to go in BPD to see my boss about something."

"That's ok. Would you like to have breakfast and shower here before you go?"

"That sounds perfect, yes." Jane agrees and they pad their feet into the kitchen.

"I don't have very much here, I can try the pantry. Wait here while I go check."

Jane sat on the high stool at the counter and scrolled through her phone while she waited for Maura to return.

"I have pancakes, waffles, and various canned foods." She says when she came back with several items in her arms.

"I'm an expert at making pancakes." Jane declares and takes the box from Maura.

"How're your hands feeling?" She asks, noticing how Jane didn't show signs of pain when she took the box.

"Still sore, but much better. I'm gonna be back in the field in no time if I keep getting those massages."

"It's a good thing you have your own personal masseuse then." She says, flashing her pearly white teeth in a wide grin.

They cooked their quick breakfast together and ate at the kitchen counter, talking until it was almost time to go. Both agreed it would be a good idea to shower separately if they didn't want to be late. Since Jane couldn't drive yet, Maura offered to take her because it was on her way, but she would've driven Jane regardless.

"If you don't have a ride later, I'll pick you up... I love you." Maura says before she kisses Jane softly, but the taller woman leans through the rolled down window and kisses her again, and again, until Maura giggles at the attack.

"I love you, too. I'll call you later." Jane kisses her once more and watches Maura drive off.

Jane walked through the front doors of BPD and felt incredible being back there, even though she knew she couldn't return to active duty for a couple more months.

"Eddie, how've you been?" She asks the uniformed officer at the front desk, he looked up from his paperwork and was happily shocked to see her.

"Jane! Wow, welcome back. It's good to see you again. I'm great, thanks. I heard you're doing ok, too?"

"Yup. Got a little banged up but otherwise I'm doing fine. How's Allison and the baby?"

"They're doing ok, Jessie keeps us up all night but we love being parents." Eddie says proudly, and produces a wallet to show Jane a photo.

"You've got a beautiful family, tell them I said hey."

"Thanks, will do. See ya around, Detective."

Jane smiles and goes over to the elevator, and presses the up arrow. It's on her floor, so the doors open right away and she gets in. The elevator stops on the third floor and she steps into the homicide bullpen. Walking over to her desk, she sees everything is as she left it.

Just as she was about to sit in her chair, she hears Cavanaugh's voice from across the room.

"Rizzoli, in my office."

"Coming, sir." Jane replies as she walks down short distance in the hall to his office.

"Sit down, please." He says, gesturing to one of the two empty chairs in front of his desk.

"What's up, boss?" Jane asks with a smile.

"You're not going be a detective anymore..."

* * *

**What? Why won't she be a detective anymore?**

**Let me know what you think in the reviews! :D**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Wow, over 100 follows! That's amazing. Thanks you guys, it made me incredibly happy. :)**

**I love the reaction I got from the cliffhanger last chapter. **

**This chapter is shorter than usual, but I'm thinking of extending the story a little bit so keep that in mind. I've got some ideas I'm working on.**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 12

"What? Why not?!" Jane nearly shouted as she stood up.

"Ja-" Sean began, but was cut off.

"If this is about what happened to me in Africa..." She trailed off, trying to reign in her anger and shock.

"Sergeant Rizzoli, it isn't nice to interrupt someone."

"C'mon Cav, this is bullshit! And- wait, why are you smiling?" Jane stops when realization hits her. "Hold on, back up just a minute. What did you say?"

"I said it isn't nice to interrupt someone." He purposely leaves out what he knew she wanted to hear.

"You called me Sergeant."

"Congratulations, Rizzoli. You've been promoted." He informs, barely holding back laughter at Jane's priceless expression.

Jane was stunned, not expecting this at all. "Really?!"

"Yes, really. You passed your Sergeant's exam with flying colors and are a damn fine detective. You deserve this."

"Thank you, sir. I'm speechless..."

The lieutenant laughs and jokes "That's a first!"

"Oh, ha ha!"

"That's not all." He says, and she sits again, eager to know what else there is. "There's an open spot in homicide. Someone has to fill it, obviously. There is a candidate who recently completed the test and they're highly qualified for the job."

"Who is it?"

"Your brother."

"Frankie is getting his gold badge?!" Her elation increases for her little brother.

"You can be the one to tell him if you want."

"I'd love to do that."

"Good. When do you think you'll be returning to work?"

"The doctor said I can be on desk duty next month. It'll take a couple more after that, but I'll be back to normal again."

"Great to hear, Jane." The phone on his desk rings in the middle of the conversation. "Gonna be busy, just got a high profile case this week. Don't let me keep you here."

"Thanks, boss. See you soon." She responds and leaves his office, almost a little sad she wouldn't be a part of a case.

Jane shook the thought and went back over to her desk again to sit down and call Frankie, who picked up right away.

"Hey Frankie, you busy?"

"No, what's up?"

"Got great news I wanna share with you. Think you can pick me up at BPD and we go celebrate somewhere?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there soon, sis."

She pressed end, then scrolled through her contacts and smiles at the familiar name and makes a second call.

"Hello, Jane." Maura cheerfully answers.

"Hey, Maur. Letting you know my brother Frankie is picking me up so you don't need to get me."

"That's good. Will I be seeing you later?"

"I was hoping you'd say that. I've got big news to tell you."

"May I have a hint?"

"Nope. You'll just have to wait I guess." She says with a chuckle.

Maura giggles and says "Alright then, you can come over whenever. I'm on my way home now with Bass, he can't wait to meet you."

"Ha! Neither can I."

"I love you and will see you later then."

"Love you, too."

* * *

Jane sat with her younger brother in a booth at the Dirty Robber, their food and soda just placed on the table. Since it was too early, neither ordered a beer.

When they're left alone Frankie asks "So what did you wanna tell me?"

"Cavanaugh promoted me to Sergeant."

"Wow, that's amazing. Congrats sis, I knew you would be."

"Thanks, bro. It feels pretty damn good... Something else you should know, too." She says, and he looks at her expectantly. "There's an opening in homicide. It's yours."

His mouth hung open in shock, much like Jane's did earlier.

"Are you serious? I got the job?!"

His older sibling nods and beams at him, and they both stand up to give each other a congratulatory hug.

"I'm proud of you, Frankie."

"Thanks, I'm proud of you too."

She breaks from the hug and fakes an annoyed groan, but both know there's love. "Alright, enough with this mushy crap. Our food is gonna get cold."

They sat back down in the booth and began eating their food, in between bites Frankie was catching Jane up on what's been going on the last month. The only interesting things that happened was him taking the detective's exam and TJ started learning how to ride a bike without the training wheels. Apart from that not much else happened. Everyone was too worried about Jane and Frost to focus on anything else.

"Sunday is in a few days, we should tell everyone at dinner." Jane spoke up a while later, referring to the news of their promotions.

"Good idea. You gonna call Pop?"

"You can if you want, but I don't really want to speak with him."

"Yeah, I understand that. I don't know if I want to either after how he acted towards all of us."

None of the Rizzoli children had spoken to their father in nearly two years since the big family blowout. In a drunken rage he tried to hit Angela when she refused to give him an annulment, saying she won't dishonor her children. Luckily Jane, Frankie, and Tommy had been there to intervene before he could do anything and threw him out of the house. Frank had moved to Florida not long after that and hasn't bothered contacting any of them, not that they cared.

Angela was heartbroken her 35 year marriage had ended, but being the strong woman she is, she didn't let that keep her down. She went to work everyday, babysat her grandson on her days off, and still cooked Sunday dinner each week for her kids. Many months later, they noticed a sort of gleam reappear in her eyes... She was happy again. Maybe happier than she ever was. It didn't take long for the detective to figure out what was going on.

She was dating again.

Jane wasn't a meddler like Angela, but found all the proof she needed when she had taken a break from working to go down to the Division One Café to grab a coffee for her and her partners. Rounding the corner about to go in, the brunette stopped when she spotted her boss and Angela share a quick kiss. Her mother handed him a healthy lunch in a plastic container and they went their separate ways. Sean exited the café, and Jane did her best to pretend she didn't notice anything.

"Not one word, Rizzoli." The lieutenant said, who obviously saw her, as he walked past and went over to the elevator to go back upstairs.

Jane and Frankie changed the subject from their estranged father and spent the next few hours reminiscing over their favorite memories together and watched a couple of games on Murray's TV at the bar.

* * *

Frankie pulls his cruiser up in front of Maura's large home and he couldn't help whistling at it.

"Now that's a nice house."

"Yep, it sure is. Thanks for the ride." Jane says and gets out of the car.

"No problem. I'll be seeing you and Maura on Sunday then."

He waits until Jane gets to the door, smirking when he sees them greet each other with a kiss, and drives off.

Jane walks through the doorway and nearly trips over Bass, who paid the stranger no mind as he ambled his way past the foyer.

"How the hell did I not see him? Wow, he's even bigger than the pic I saw of him back in Africa. Will he get any bigger?"

"No, this is it for him. I've had him since he was like... this big." Maura uses her thumb and index finger, bringing them about two inches apart. "So tell me what your big news is!"

"I was promoted to Sergeant this morning."

"That's fantastic, Jane! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you." Maura ecstatically responds and passionately kisses her.

"Thanks, Maur." She says and goes back in for another toe curling kiss, the blonde wraps her arms around Jane's neck to deepen it.

"We should celebrate. I have beer, champagne, and wine. What do you prefer?" Maura asks with her mouth lingering over Jane's.

"I'm in a champagne kind of mood for a change."

Maura smiles, gives her a quick smooch, and walks over to get two glasses from the kitchen cabinet. As she reaches up to the top shelf where they're at, her blouse rises up and exposes a little bit of skin.

Jane of course notices and is distracted, missing what Maura said. "I'm sorry, I was just admiring the really nice view... What did you say?"

With a quick laugh and grin, she repeats herself while getting the bottle of champagne stored in the kitchen.

"I was saying how good it feels to be back home finally. It feels like just yesterday I left, nothing hasn't changed around here and I love that."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven't been gone as long as you, but I missed being here."

The bottle is uncorked and the alcohol is poured into both glasses, and the doctor hands one to Jane who nods her head in thanks.

After they clink their glasses together and take a sip, Jane comments about how delicious the champagne is.

"Mmm... This is probably the best champagne I've ever had."

"Thank you, it's one of my favorites. I'm glad you like it."

"So besides getting Bass, how'd your day go?"

"I went shopping and restocked the pantry and kitchen, cleaned up a little and fed Bass his British strawberries. That's about it. How about you?"

"Hung out with my brother all day at our favorite place and had a great time. I can't wait for my hands to heal so I can play basketball with him again, I've been itching for a rematch ever since he broke my nose. Speaking of my hands..." Jane begins as she flexes them ever so slightly to avoid triggering any pain. "How long am I gonna have to keep these things on? I haven't been to a doctor here yet and the ones in Africa said different things."

"A week, maybe two. They're healing well, so you won't be needing the bandages. Just small bandaids."

Jane nods, relieved. "Did you want to come to Sunday dinner with me at my Ma's house? I'm gonna tell them about the promotion and Frankie's got some news, too."

Maura is delighted and accepts the invitation immediately. "I would love to, yes. Should I bring this champagne? You seem to really enjoy it."

"You don't have to, but I wouldn't mind having this again. I'm sure Ma and the guys would love it, too."

"I think I made a good impression on your mother last night."

Jane moves closer to Maura, who puts her glass down and resumes the earlier embrace.

"You definitely did. You're the most amazing person I've ever met, there's no way someone wouldn't like you. Though no one could love you as much as I do."

"Why don't you show me how much you love me?" Maura winks, and sashays her hips while walking away from Jane towards her bedroom.

* * *

A little over a month had passed since she had been officially promoted. Jane was finally back to work the other week, but there were certain restrictions and limitations of course. The new Sergeant was in too good of a mood to let something as boring, and often tedious, as desk duty get to her.

That Sunday dinner telling everyone the news of her's and Frankie's promotions went well, and Angela seemed to really take a liking to Maura and had insisted she come back again anytime she was free. So that made Jane feel pretty happy and content.

As for the desk duty... It wasn't all bad. She helped solve two cases already just by pieces things together from inside BPD.

Jane is at her desk finishing up filing notes for Frost, who's out with Frankie chasing down their only lead on a tough case they received yesterday.

The little bandaids on each of her hands were no longer needed, both wounds completely closed up and healed. The visible and identical pink crescent-shaped scars were slightly raised on each side of both hands.

They're still sore, but are always ok after a few minutes of Maura's massages. She soon learned the cold weather irritates them and they ache whenever it's going to rain soon.

She works on strengthening her grip and continues improving every day, but still has a little ways to go. A few days ago she took Maura to the gun range with her so she could practice. As expected, her aim was a little off.

Maura also popped off a few rounds and impressed Jane with her skills, who was turned on seeing her stance, calling her "Doctor Sexy McBadass".

Jane is temporarily lost in thought while grazing one of the bumps with her index finger when Korsak comes storming into the bullpen and angrily tosses a file on his desk.

"What's with you?" Her eyebrows crinkle in concern.

"Pike is getting on my last damn nerve." Korsak plopped down in his chair and takes a bad out from his desk that held a couple of donuts in it.

"Oh no... What did he do now?"

"He nearly screwed up the evidence! The whole case would've fallen apart if I didn't correct him in time." He explains, then begins a rant. "Then he couldn't tell the difference between a 30 and 45 caliber bullet. How did he ever become a doctor in the first place?" He finishes with an annoyed huff then chuckles.

Jane laughs with him and says "I have no idea."

"I wish someone else would take his place. Anyone would be better than that pompous ass."

She stops laughing when a light bulb goes off and smirks.

"I just so happen to know someone perfect for the job."

* * *

**Hmm... Who could it be? ;) **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

******Longest chapter yet, I think that makes up for the last one being so short.**

**So excited for the Season 5 premiere tonight! Anyone gonna watch the marathon? I know I will be. :)**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 13

Maura paces a small distance in the halls of the courthouse while she waits to be called in for her final interview by the Governor and Chief Medical Examiner to see if she gets the job.

Jane gently takes her by the wrist and urges her to sit down and relax. "Babe, there's nothing to worry about."

When she sees Maura is still nervous, Jane reassures her with a kiss and tells her "Just be yourself."

Maura smiles and her tensed up shoulders drop a little. "You don't have to wait, it could be a while."

"I'm not going anywhere." She says and receives a light kiss.

A sharply dressed man opens a door across from where they sat and calls out the doctor's name. "Doctor Isles, they're ready for you."

The Sergeant squeezes Maura's knee and stands with her. "Knock 'em dead."

"Why would I want to do that?" She questions with a puzzled expression on her face.

She rolls her eyes lovingly and simply replies "It's just an expression."

Maura smiles again, then walks over to where the man is. He holds open the door for her and lets her go in first then closes it behind him.

Jane sat back down on the bench to wait and pulls out her phone just as she gets a text from Frost.

_'How's it going?'_

_'She was just called in'_

_'When she gets the job let us know. First round is on me at The Dirty Robber!'_

She smiles at the thought of everyone having so much confidence in Maura. In the short 5 months they have known her, everyone welcomed her with open arms into their family. Jane remembered back to the other week when Angela had called Maura her daughter too, and the blonde woman nearly wept. She was so happy to be part of a family and extremely grateful to know the Rizzoli's, Frost, Korsak, and Cavanaugh.

_'You got it, partner'_ she texts back a few seconds later.

To pass the time, Jane played a game on her phone. Her hands are 100% functional again and has no problem using them. Once in a while they'll be sore but it really doesn't bother her too much anymore. Her shooting accuracy was also back to normal by the time she was ready to return to field work almost two whole months ago.

A judge walks by and stops when she notices the woman sitting down, who was focused on a difficult level.

"Jane? Jane Rizzoli, is that you?"

She looks up from her game and smiles, pleasantly surprised. "Judge Collins! Hey, how are you?"

"How long have we known each other, Jane? That, and we're not in court. It's Elizabeth." She scolds, throwing her arms around her.

"Old habits die hard." Jane jokes as the two hug tightly, having not seen each since right before Jane left for Africa with Frost.

"They certainly do... Oh, and I'm doing well, thank you. It's been a while... You look as fantastic as ever. How've you been?"

"Can't complain, thanks." Jane shrugs.

"I heard it's Sergeant Rizzoli these days." Collins raises an eyebrow, impressed and happy for her old friend.

"Yes it is." She proudly confirms.

"Congrats on that... And great work on putting an end to that huge drug ring, I heard it lead you and your partner to Africa?"

"Thanks. It did, yeah. Couldn't have done it alone, though."

"So what are you doing here? It's a little late. Did you need a warrant signed? I wouldn't mind doing that for you in case you're waiting for another judge."

"Oh, no... But thank you. I'm actually waiting here for my girlfriend, Doctor Maura Isles. She's trying to become BPD's newest medical examiner."

"Wow, I've heard about her. Fantastic doctor and has impressive qualifications. She's definitely going to get the job." Judge Collins looks down at her watch and says "I have to go, sorry I can't hang around here with you while you wait."

"That's ok, it was great seeing you again."

"You too, stop by sometime and we'll catch up properly. See you around, Rizzoli."

When Collins walks away, Jane sat back down and resumes the game on her phone. She played that and a few others for close to an hour when Maura finally emerges from the room she entered earlier.

She has a very bright smile on her face.

"I take it went well in there?" Jane obviously knows it did, but asks anyway, loving how adorable and absolutely radiant she looks.

"They can't officially tell me yet, but they said it looks like Doctor Pike will be transferred soon."

"Yes! That's great news, Maur. I knew you would get the job. Hell, we all did. Frost texted me and said to tell him when you get the job. The guys wanna buy you a drink at The Dirty Robber to celebrate."

Maura laughs and accepts the offer for drinks, and links hands with Jane. They exit the courthouse together, walking through thick rain to get to their cars. Jane had said earlier that morning it would be a good idea to go separately just in case she was called into work, which Maura understood and agreed.

* * *

"To Maura!" Everyone cheers, and clinks their bottles of beer and glasses of wine together.

Before they drink, Maura stops them. "I would like to add something, if I may."

They all give her a look that says by all means.

"I want to thank all of you for being so nice to me and making me feel welcome and a part of a family I've been wishing I could have for years now. Actually, it's better than I've ever imagined. I've never met anyone as wonderful as any of you. Thank you, this is to all of you as well." Maura concludes the heartfelt toast, and the group drink to that.

Jane, Frost, Korsak, and Cavanaugh's cellphones buzzed. Everyone at the large booth knows what that means.

"Damn it. I only got to have a single sip of my beer..." Jane groans and grumbles.

She reads the short text message from Detective Crowe, suspicious death of a judge at the courthouse she and Maura were just at.

Korsak, who had gotten a phone call and not a text like Jane, placed his phone back in his jacket pocket. "Judge Collins was just found dead in her chambers."

"Oh my god..." Angela gasps, placing her hand over her mouth in shock.

"I'm sorry Angela, I have to go to the crime scene. I'll drive you home first, though." Sean feels terrible he can't be with her and comfort her knowing she'll be up all night crying over this.

"That won't be necessary, Lieutenant. I'll take her." Maura insists, and he nods once.

"Thanks, Maur. I'll call you as soon as I can." Jane brushes her hand over Maura's as she gets up with the others to leave. On the way out, Frost quickly slaps some bills on the bar for Murray.

"Are you alright, Angela?" Maura tentatively asks, noticing how shook up the Rizzoli woman appeared.

"The judge, Elizabeth... She's a lovely woman. Janie and I became good friends with her after Vince and them worked on a case together." Angela finishes with a sob.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Maura reaches into her purse and pulls out a pack of tissues and hands them to her.

"Thank you, honey." Angela sniffles as she tears up more. "Do you mind if we go now?"

"Of course not."

While in the car, Maura wants to make sure Angela is going to be ok.

"They're probably going to be gone for a while, you shouldn't be alone right now. You can come stay at my house tonight if you'd like."

"I appreciate the gesture, but I wouldn't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be. If you need privacy you can just use my guest house if you want."

The Rizzoli mother happily accepts, loving to spend time with Maura anyway. "Ok, thank you... That's very kind of you."

"It's no trouble at all." Maura assures with a smile.

When stopped, Maura texts Jane to let her know that Angela will be staying at her place tonight. Just before the light turned green, she gets a thank you text back.

"Your speech earlier was beautiful." Angela comments while looking out the car window. The storm wasn't as bad now, only a light drizzle.

"Thank you. I'm very glad I have all of you in my life. I'm truly grateful."

"We're glad to have you, too. I know Janie loves you like crazy, you make her very happy. You make us all happy. Before, our family felt like it was missing something for a while. At first I thought was because my creep of an ex husband isn't in the picture, then I realized... We didn't have you yet. Now that we do, our family feels complete." Angela looks over at the woman driving, who had just put car in park in her driveway.

Maura quickly wipes at her eyes, feeling tears brimming in them. "I'm honored to hear to you say that."

As they walk inside the house, the subject of family continues.

"I don't mean to pry, but what about your parents? Jane says you don't mention them much." Angela asks as nicely as possibly, settling on the couch with Maura.

Maura sighs sadly. "We don't speak much. They're busy with their careers. I check in once in a while but always get a voicemail or one of their secretaries answer."

"But you're their daughter!"

Her lips quirk upwards slightly when Angela jumps to her defense. "It's alright, I'm no longer bothered by it. I have people who make me feel very loved."

"That you are..."

"I still speak with my half-sister, Kate. We're very close and see each other as often as we can. Last time was a month before I met Jane. Her career keeps her pretty busy as well, but she always makes sure she has time for me."

"She sounds sweet, I would love to meet her. Next time Kate's in town, make sure she stops by the house and we can have her over for dinner."

"I'm sure she'd love that. She's always complaining about not having a decent home cooked meal." Memories of Kate replayed in her mind. They were often of the agent telling her over the phone how she didn't have time to make dinner and had to grab fast food, and then she would usually get chastised by Maura about not eating healthy enough.

"Poor baby, I hope she visits soon."

"Me too. I talked to her last night, actually. She hopes to be here by Christmas at the latest."

"That's perfect! You can both experience a Rizzoli family Christmas together."

They reflected on their best memories of the holiday. Both laughed hysterically when Angela told her that Jane and Tommy almost tripped over each other excitedly running down the steps at the crack of dawn to see the presents Santa had left them.

* * *

The four of them walked through the building together and were greeted by Detective Darren Crowe not far from the crime scene. He wasn't the easiest to get along with, but tonight they saw a different man. Crowe was completely professional and didn't utter a single snide comment. He too was saddened by Collins' death.

"Me and a few uniforms were first on scene. Talked with security, they said about a half a dozen people exited the building in the last hour but none of them raised any alarms."

"Who found her?" Cavanaugh asks the young detective.

"That would be the janitor, Lou Alberts. He's waiting with the uniforms right over there so we can take his official statement."

"Let's go talk to him, then."

By silent agreement and habit, Jane is the one to speak with him. She's always the best one to talk to victims and witnesses out of any of the group. It was surprising for most to see that soft side of her considering how her tough personality is always on display.

"Hello, Mr. Alberts. I'm Sergeant Rizzoli. These are my partners, Sergeant Korsak and Detective Frost. Can you tell me what happened please?" She got out a pen and small note pad to write the information down for later reference.

"I was doing my job, same as every night. I had just finished cleaning the hall floors and went into Judge Collins' chambers to collect trash. That's..." The old man pauses and trembles at the horrific memory. "That's when I saw her. At first I thought she may have fallen asleep, the way she was leaning on her desk. People work late, it happens. I got closer and saw all the blood. I panicked and ran for help."

"Did you see anyone at all either coming out of her chambers or around them while you were still cleaning in the hall?"

Lou frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't. No one was around this part of the building. This section is pretty large, it's possible I might have missed them when my back was turned. Or they left before I got there. I wish I could be of more help."

"Hey, that's ok. You've been very helpful. We're going to have one of our officers drive you home, ok? If you remember anything, anything at all, just call my number."

"I will. Get this scumbag, will ya? That woman was a saint and didn't deserve this."

"We're going to do everything we can." Jane's strong and determined voice was enough for Lou to feel confident knowing this case was in good hands. He took Jane's card and was then escorted outside to be driven home by one of the officers who he had been waiting with earlier.

"That guy is in his 80's or 90's, at least... With his body type added to that, there's no way he could be our killer, unless he hired someone. I doubt it though. I think it's safe to rule him out as a suspect."

They all agree with Korsak's assessment and proceed to go under the yellow tape to enter the room.

The crime scene is gruesome. Frost was doing his best to control his gag reflex at the sight of the bruised and bloodied recently deceased woman slouched over in her chair. Even Jane has a hard time stomaching it.

Her hands looked as if they were crushed repeatedly, so much so that a bone was protruding out of one of them. The gash in her head was still dripping blood since she hasn't been dead for very long, which made them hopeful the killer didn't get very far yet. Nothing in the room looked like a possible murder weapon, leaving them to believe the killer took it with them.

"I just talked to her a little over two hours ago." Jane sadly remarks while approaching the body. "Why would someone want to brutally torture and kill a sweet person like this?"

"Jane... She was a judge, she was bound to have some enemies." Frost points out gently so he didn't upset her further.

"We got this. You can sit this one out if you want." The lieutenant offers.

Jane composes herself and shakes her head in the negative, giving a sad half smile. "Thanks, but no. I want to find her killer."

She gets back into Sergeant mode and focuses on the case at hand, then looks around the room.

"We don't have any witnesses, yet... What about cameras?"

Frost grimaces, and Jane knows it isn't good. "They're all over the place, but unfortunately none are aimed towards her private chambers."

"Fuck... Figures. Either the killer was lucky he wasn't spotted, or he's smart and familiar enough with the building and was careful. Frost..." She turns to her younger partner. "Cross reference the time of death with other camera angles. See if there's anyone that looks suspicious. It's all we have to go on for now."

"On it." He nods and begins working on getting the info right from his tablet.

"Someone had to have seen something."

Korsak notices how hard Jane is trying to be optimistic but knows she needs a little reassurance. "It's kind of late, the courthouse is pretty much empty at this hour. Security said only half a dozen people left within the last hour."

"That's good... That narrows down how many suspects. I wish she would've mentioned if she was meeting anyone." Jane looked through her planner that was left out on the blood stained mahogany desk, but it didn't list any appointments. It looked as if she was free for the rest of the evening. Jane showed Korsak and wondered aloud "Why did she come back to her office then?"

"Maybe she forgot something?"

"Maybe... Or someone could've met with her last minute."

Frost interrupts their theorizing and holds out the tablet, showing them what he found. "Got the footage. It looks like only three people were in the immediate area around the time of death besides Lou."

"We need to find them." With that, Jane takes one last look at Elizabeth, silently swearing she will bring justice for her, and leaves the room.

* * *

A few hours later, Korsak places a printed out copy of Elizabeth Collins' dead body and a screenshot of the potential suspect on camera side by side on the table in Interrogation room 3.

"I didn't do that." Their suspect says, and looks away from the image in disgust.

"Tell us why you were in such a hurry around the time she was killed then." Jane demands in a tone that was calm, but her partner knew she was boiling under the surface.

"Court ran late and I was rushing to get home in time for my little girl's birthday party. You can check with my wife and our neighbors, and Judge Wolfe of course."

"We will be, and if it doesn't check out you're in a lot of trouble."

District Attorney Brian Shepherd was not intimidated by the Sergeant's words, having been on that side of the law for many years now and often used harsher tactics against those on the stand.

"I said I didn't do it. What possible motive could I have?"

"Funny you should say that." Jane pulls out another piece of paper and slides it across the table. "What about this?"

He leans over to get a closer look and sees it's a list of some of the cases he lost, and the judge in all of them was Collins.

"So what? I've lost other cases where she wasn't the judge. I don't have some personal vendetta if that's what you're insinuating. You can't prove a damn thing just by this."

Jane and Korsak can tell he's starting to get agitated and rattled by the accusation. So the brunette prods just a little more to see what they can get out of him. He isn't the type of man to crack under pressure but hopefully will give them something to work on.

"We can prove you two never saw eye to eye."

"You're fishing... That's all you have?"

"Are you saying there's more?" Her eyebrow raises slightly, daring him to say anything. Wanting to punch the smug grin off that asshole's face.

Shepherd rises from the chair and coolly states "I know my rights, unless I'm under arrest then I'm leaving. This is absolutely ridiculous. I'm a lawyer, not a criminal. I put people like the ones whoever did this away. If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to tuck my daughter into bed." He adjusts the blazer of his fancy 10 grand suit and stands by the door, and Korsak lets him go.

"He's definitely involved somehow, or at least knows something. His attitude and demeanor is telling my gut he's our guy. Didn't you notice how he said 'ones'? As if he meant more than one killer."

"I did catch that, but it isn't enough to arrest him. We still need more proof."

"Yeah, you're right... Let's go." Jane gets up and closes the door to interrogation, both return to the bullpen to see Frost and Frankie at their desks. "How did it go with the other suspects?"

"Both alibis seem to check out. Nothing was suspicious on the camera footage either. They don't seem like killers, but we'll keep digging into their lives in case something interesting pops up. What about your guy?" Frost inquires, then goes over to get some coffee to help him wake up a bit.

"He's hiding something, but we don't have anything concrete... He made a possible slip about there being more than one killer. I'm gonna call Judge Wolfe and see if he was really where he said."

"I can handle that for you, Jane." Her little brother was already typing on his computer for the number, not waiting for her response.

"Thanks, Frankie. C'mon Vince, we should go see if there's anything on the body."

He agrees and the two sergeants leave the room for the morgue a few floors below.

* * *

Jane groans quietly next to Korsak when she sees Pike has only just begun the autopsy, even though the body has been in his custody for 3 hours.

Through gritted teeth and a forced smile, she calmly asks him "Have you found anything yet?"

"Patience, Sergeant." Pike says without looking away from the body.

_'That is not the thing you wanna say to me right now.'_ Jane suppresses a growl, and the urge to throw something at him.

With a pair of forceps, he picks up a particle on Judge Collins' clothes and places it inside the safety of a small round container. "Senior Criminalist Chang, take this to the crime lab and have it tested please."

Susie throws Jane a sympathetic glance and whispers to her as she walks by. "I'll be as fast as I can."

"Thank you, Susie." Jane whispers back, then goes to sit on the empty cold metal slab while she waits for Pike to continue the autopsy.

After an hour of barely anything happening and nothing of interest found, Jane had enough of listening to the awful ramblings of the medical examiner. She goes upstairs alone, Korsak stoically chooses to stay behind just in case Pike actually finds something.

Back in the bullpen, Jane asks the guys if they had any luck.

"CSRU didn't find anything helpful at the crime scene, but they're still there. Just got off the phone with Wolfe, and after getting chewed out about calling so late he said Shepherd was in court and it did in fact run late, he left around 6." Frankie informs.

Jane gets a little excited hearing this. "Elizabeth was killed around 7, he's still looking good for this. We've got nothing that points to him?"

"Not yet." Frost sighs and rubs his eyes, the detective was exhausted from being up so long. The coffee earlier didn't help very much. "You said there was a chance she was meeting someone... I'll see what I can do about phone records. Shepard's, probably not... I'll be able to look at Judge Collins' though."

"Yeah, do that... She showed signs of fighting back, Korsak and I didn't notice any marks on Shepherd's face. He was wearing long sleeves, but I highly doubt he'll let us take a look at his arms without a warrant."

"You don't think we have enough to bring him in again?" Frankie asks Jane, assuming they already do now.

"No... We have to wait until we get more on the autopsy, or if Frost gets anything from looking at her phone records."

As if on cue, Susie comes in with a folder and says "I have the results on that fiber for you."

"Excellent timing, Susie. Thanks."

She hands it to Jane, who flips it open and reads the information quickly.

"What is it and what kind of things is this stuff used for?"

"It's from a kind of rope typically used by rock climbers. It's not exactly common, so it shouldn't be hard to track down who uses it and where it's sold." The young but incredibly smart and talented doctor explains.

"Rock climbing..." Jane murmurs, her mind remembering something possibly significant.

She suddenly goes to her computer and checks something, typing for a full minute before shouting "Aha!"

"What did you find?" Frost, Frankie and Susie all ask at the same time.

"I knew I remembered hearing his name before... Our suspect is a frequent rock climber. Says here he hosts charity events and has custom-built walls for kids to use." Jane turns to her brother and smirks. "Well, we have enough now to go say hi and have a little chat."

* * *

**Let me know what you guys think of the crime part... Still trying to figure some things out but I hope it's good so far.**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely loved the premiere! Great episode. I was crying the last two minutes though and I know I'll be bawling tonight... It will be a difficult but touching episode I'm sure. **

**Apologies for another delay. Had Internet troubles. **

**Thank you to those who have recently followed and favorited this story, it means a lot to me! :D**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 14

"What the hell are you doing here? It's 3 in the morning." Shepherd demands when he opens the door and finds Jane, Frankie, and Korsak standing on the other side.

Jane smiles smugly. "We were just in the neighborhood."

"Well there are other parts, go there." He snidely remarks, and attempts to close the door but is stopped when Frankie flattens his palm against it, preventing him from doing so.

In an authoritative tone, the Rizzoli detective asks "What did you do between 6 and 7 PM last night?"

The DA scoffs and says "I went back to my office to gather a few of my personal belongings and to finish up some pressing matters on my laptop."

"Awful convenient your office isn't too far from Judge Collins' office." Korsak raises and eyebrow suggestively then adds "You know, the same office she was _murdered_ in several hours ago."

Jane looks at Shepherd's exposed arms in his short sleeve shirt. Jane knows Elizabeth fought back, but there isn't a mark on him.

_'I know he did this... But how?'_ She thinks to herself.

"If you don't leave, I will call the police. This is harassment. I did not kill Judge Elizabeth Collins. You have no evidence that suggests otherwise." He adamantly states.

Jane thinks this is the perfect time to bring up the rock climbing, but she won't reveal they have evidence.

"Can you tell me about your charity?"

The question throws him off, his attitude changes into a calmer one. "Which one?"

"The rock climbing one." Jane clarifies with a smile.

Shepherd smiles back and replies "I have events every weekend. Kids have fun and all the money we receive goes to people in need."

"That's very sweet and generous of you." Her words relax him completely, falling for her deceit.

Meanwhile, Frankie and Korsak are trying to suppress their smiles as Jane steps in closer and leans against the door frame.

"My nephew would love to rock climb..."

His bright blue eyes raked over Jane's body. "You should bring him sometime. I would love to see you there, too."

Just then, a tired looking woman in a robe comes to the door. "Brian, what's going on?"

"Nothing, honey. These people were just leaving." Shepherd assures his wife, then turns back to Jane and the guys. "Judge Collins was a good woman. I'm sorry she's dead and that's the end of it. Do not come back here."

"We will if it aids the investigation." Korsak responds, refusing to be told no.

"Goodnight." He rudely says, then slams the door shut.

The trio get back into their car and head to BPD.

"That went well." Frankie sarcastically remarks from the backseat.

Jane laughs for a moment and tells them "I didn't see any marks on his arms..."

"So it might not be him then?"

Korsak made an unsure sound. "Not necessarily... He could've had someone else do it."

Frankie shrugs and agrees. "Yeah, that's true." He lets out a short laugh and asks his older sister "What was with that girly flirting act back there?"

"Sometimes it loosens suspects up and they might make a slip... With how he reacted I think it would be easy to get info out of him. Maybe I will head to that event this weekend. I'll have to ask Tommy if TJ can go."

"I'll go with you, you'll need back up and I wanna protect my little nephew too."

"Good idea."

* * *

Frost hangs up the phone as they enter the squad room. He doesn't look happy. "That was Susie... Pike just went home for the night."

Jane is in disbelief. "Right in the middle of an autopsy?!" Her partner shrugs and she sighs in frustration. "That's ridiculous. He came in later than us, he shouldn't have left early. If anything, we're the ones who deserve to go home. Not him."

"Think we should go home anyway? No point in staying if we have to wait for Pike to complete the autopsy. We've done all we can for now on our end."

The brunette looks at her fellow sergeant and sighs again. "We might as well."

"Sorry, Jane. We'll get right back on this in a few hours. In the meantime, try and get some sleep. Night." He loosens his tie and walks out of the room.

She goes over to her desk and sits down to text her girlfriend.

_'Hey... You still up?' _

_The response comes in quickly. 'Yes' _

_'How's Ma doing?' _

_'She is doing fine. She just went to bed actually' _

_'That was really nice of you to let her stay there tonight' _

_'It wasn't a problem' _

_'I'm done for the night and wouldn't mind getting some sleep either' _

_'I'm lying in bed now, but I'll wait up so you can join me'_

Jane grins and texts back _'I'll be there in 20'_

She opens her desk drawer to retrieve her car keys. "Night, you guys. See you later."

Frankie and Frost, who hadn't left yet, waved as Jane went by.

Walking outside into the dark, Jane shivers from the cold of the rain which had picked up again a few minutes ago. She turns on the heat as soon as she gets inside. While Jane waited for it to warm up, she rubbed her hands together in an effort to stop them from hurting. Once it got warm enough, she pressed her hands against the vents, the effects of it instantly numbing the pain.

Now feeling much better, Jane drives to Maura's house.

When she gets in the door, Jane takes her boots and jacket off. Knowing Maura wouldn't want her leaving them just lying around, she neatly places them next to a pair of designer heels.

Jane smirks to herself in the dark living room, wondering _'How does she even walk in those things?'_

She tip toes up the steps just in case Maura fell asleep. Pushing the cracked open door lightly, Jane sees the blonde perched up against the headboard with a book in her hand. Her fingers still kept the page open from what she was reading.

Jane gently takes it from her, places a bookmark inside, then puts it on her nightstand and turns off the light.

Maura stirs and Jane says "Shh, it's just me. You can go back to sleep."

She opens her eyes and smiles sweetly even half asleep, then leans up for a quick kiss.

Jane takes off her gun and badge, putting them next to the book on the nightstand. Next to go off is her shirt and pants, which are left on a chair in the corner. Finally, she slips under the covers and relaxes into a comfortable embrace with Maura. Both sigh in content.

"Are you ok?" Maura sleepily asks.

"Yeah, just tired."

"I mean about what happened earlier. Angela told me Elizabeth was a close friend of the family."

"Yes, she was. Collins was one of the good ones."

"I'm very sorry... I hope you find who did this."

"Thanks." Jane kisses her head, smelling the sweet lavender scent of her shampoo in her hair, ad Maura nuzzles closer in the crook of her neck. "We're getting close."

After a few minutes both nodded off to sleep.

Several hours later, Jane wakes up with Maura lying on her chest. She basks in this for a few minutes before trying carefully extricate herself from the bed without waking her. Jane knows she failed when Maura tightens her grip.

Maura kisses her chest and up her neck to waiting lips, Jane eagerly kisses back. Instinctively, her hands roam the doctor's body and cup both large breasts. Maura breaks from the sensual kiss and moans.

Jane glances over at the clock to see if they have time for this.

Maura leans down and seductively whispers in her ear. "Don't start something you can't finish, Sergeant."

This sends a reaction right to Jane's core, and in a flash she lifts Maura's silk pajama top over her head.

Jane's cell phone rings, and both women curse under their breaths.

The Italian raises a surprised eyebrow at her while reaching for the phone. "Maura, language."

She kisses Jane once more and hops off the bed, then takes off the rest of her clothes and is completely naked in front of Jane who had just answered the call.

Jane suppresses a loud groan and clears her throat.

"Yeah, Frost... What's up?"

"Not gonna believe this... Pike took the day off."

She sits up and growls "What?!"

Maura peeks her head out of the bathroom in concern, not wanting to eavesdrop but wants to make sure she is ok.

"Why the hell did he do that in the middle of a case and not even finish the damn autopsy?!" Jane gets out of bed, unable to be still in her anger and paces along the wooden floor. With obvious dread in her voice, she asks her partner "Is Popov available?"

"Susie called, but he's busy on another case and is too far anyway. She wanted to help but she said she isn't able to legally."

"Damn... I'll be there soon to help figure something out."

She hangs up and Maura comes out of the bathroom. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhear... I could make a call to the Governor if you want."

"What for?" A confused Jane asks.

"I can tell him the problem, and since I'm already getting the job I could ask to start early. I'm sure with the importance of the case and Doctor Pike calling out they will let me."

"You sure?"

Maura shakes her head yes. "Just give me some time to shower and I'll make the necessary calls."

Jane opens her mouth to respond but a low growl erupts from her stomach.

Maura rolls her eyes but laughs too. "Maybe you should go downstairs and eat something."

"Yes, ma'am!" She mock salutes and rushes off to the kitchen.

The blonde doctor sat back on the bed and calls the Governor.

"Morning, sir. It's Doctor Isles."

"Good morning, Maura. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I assume you've heard about Judge Collins?"

"Yes I have. A terrible shame. She was a good lady. We've got Boston's finest working the case, so I'm not worried."

"That's actually why I called, sir. The medical examiner, Pike, took the day off. There's nothing the sergeants and detectives can do until he finishes it I'm afraid."

He lets out a sound of great annoyance. "The incompetence of that man, I swear... Let me guess, you're requesting to come in early and assist?"

"I am, yes."

"That's very kind of you. Normally we wouldn't allow this sort of thing, but given the case and you already being hired... Well, just come down to my office right away and we can discuss it further. I'll have to sign a few things to give you what you need. Documents and an ID. Things of that sort. When can I expect you?"

"Thank you so much. I can be there in as little as an hour."

"Good, I'll see you then."

The call ends and Maura goes to shower, a quick and thorough one. Only lasting about 15 minutes.

Jane had just finished a bowl of healthy cereal, which she was surprised she enjoyed so much, and a cup of fresh brewed coffee. Once her hunger was sated, she calls the Lieutenant.

"Cav, Maura says she's gonna try and get the Governor to let her come in to finish the autopsy since Pike went AWOL on us."

"Good... I know him well, he'll definitely let her. I'll inform Susie and the others in the lab."

"Right, I'll be in soon." Jane ends the brief call just as Maura comes into the kitchen, wearing just a bra and underwear while drying her hair with a towel.

"I'm almost ready. I just need to get my dress I just had dry cleaned. Good news, I've spoken with the Governor and he wants to meet with me as soon as possible."

"That's not good news, it's fantastic news!" Jane goes over to Maura and hugs her tightly. She pulls back but still has her arms wrapped around. A quick kiss and she lets her go. "You should get dressed now, or else we may never leave the house."

"When this is over, we're going to continue where we left off this morning." Maura winks, then grabs the bag containing her dry cleaned dress draped over her couch and heads to the other room to slip it on. When she comes back out, Jane is still waiting at the counter. Her jaw drops when she notices Maura return.

"Wow, you look great. That dress matches your eyes perfectly."

Maura blushes a light shade of pink. "Thank you. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep... Wait, what about Ma?"

"She's still in the guest house I think. I gave her a spare key in case she needs it."

"I hope she's doing alright... I'll call her later. We need to get going."

"I have to stop by the Governor's office first to get temporary documentation and an ID badge."

Jane nods in understanding. "That's fine, I'll see you at the station."

They kiss each other goodbye and say I love you before parting ways.

* * *

Jane is standing at the clear board in by her desk a little while later looking over the clues when her cell phone rings. She takes it from her belt and smiles at the photo.

"Hey, Maur."

"I got what I needed, I'm on my way now."

"That was fast... Thanks again for coming in early."

"It was bound to happen anyway due to Pike and his selfish behavior. The Governor was not happy and is considering firing him or at least severely penalizing him somehow."

"Some of the best news I've heard all week." Jane gets excited at the thought of never seeing that awful man again.

"I'm almost there, I have go."

After exchanging goodbyes, Jane hung up and turned to the guys. "That was Maura, she got permission to come in early to do the autopsy."

"Now we'll get somewhere... Maura's probably going to find something a hell of a lot faster than Pike would've." Korsak says, to which the others all agree.

They couldn't do much until Maura got there, and decide to pass the time playing games with paper. The made planes and also balled them up. Kicking them around or throwing them into trash cans from various distances.

During the mini 'soccer' match, Maura walked in just in time to see Jane cheering happily over a goal.

"Yes! C'mon, Korsak. Can't keep up with me? That's 2-0 old man."

"Hey, this old man isn't out of the game yet!"

"Bring it." Jane challenges with a grin matched by her beloved partner. She hasn't noticed Maura yet, her back turned and too engrossed in the game.

Maura sits next in the chair next to Jane's desk, where Frost sits across and says hello. "Hey, Maura. You're just in time. It looks like the game is gonna be over soon."

She giggles and replies "Hello, Barry. I can see the game is getting rather intense."

"Yeah, it always does with us. We're a competitive bunch."

They turn their heads back to the game when they hear loud screeching sound, Korsak had tried to kick the little paper ball but missed. His shoe had scuffed against the floor, Jane took her chance and kicked the ball into the open doors of BRIC, the makeshift goal. It soars through, not blocked in time.

Jane cheers once again and does a mini happy dance, then gets a high-five from Korsak in congratulations. She turns around when she hears a familiar laugh and sees Maura sitting by her desk.

"You laughing at me, Isles?" Her eyes narrow in obvious faux anger.

She smiles and says "I wouldn't dream of it... Hello, Vince. That was quite a game you two played. It looked like you were having a lot of fun."

"Yeah, it sure was. Great to have you here."

"Thank you. I just wanted to stop by and say hello to all of you before I get to work. I'm going to do all I can to help you on this case." Maura stands up and gives Jane a kiss on the cheek, then nods to Frost and Korsak. "I will call you as soon I find anything."

Jane stops her from leaving. "I'll go with you. I don't have anything to do right now anyway, so I could show you around down there. Plus I wanna sit in on the autopsy, if that's ok."

"Of course, lead the way."

Jane places her hand on the small of Maura's back and walks out with her to the elevator, talking about the case on the ride down.

"Tell me what you know so far on this case... I'm going to read the file anyway, but I would like your opinion on it."

"We don't have much forensic evidence... Yet. Our suspect is District Attorney Brian Shepherd, who we saw on security footage near they crime scene. We don't have enough to link him to the murder but we still believe he is involved somehow." Jane furrows her thin dark eyebrows, frustrated with the lack of evidence.

The elevator doors open, and the two continue talking about the case as they walk down the hall.

"As I said, I'll do what I can. If there's anything on the body, I'll find it." Maura assures.

Jane and Maura reach the outside of the morgue where Susie is, and the taller of the two introduces them.

"Susie, this is Doctor Maura Isles. Maur, this is our Senior Criminalist, Susie Chang."

Susie shakes Maura's hand and excitedly says "Pleasure to meet you, Doctor Isles. I'm a huge fan of your work and the Isles Foundation. It actually helped put me through medical school."

"Thank you, Susie. I'm glad my family's foundation was able to help. That's why we started it."

"I can show you where everything is so we can get started." She points over her shoulder with her thumb in the direction of the morgue.

Maura nods and the three go inside, where Susie gives a mini tour.

"These are where we keep the main tools and instruments for autopsies. Basic supplies are in those cabinets over there... Of course if you need anything, just find me. If I'm not available, one of the assistants would be happy to help."

Jane's phone alerts her of a text, she checks it then puts it back on her belt. "Looks like you got a handle on things so far, I have to go back upstairs. Frost has something... Thanks, Susie. Maura, call if you need me or find something."

"I will. Thanks, Jane."

When Jane leaves, Susie gives Maura a pair of black scrubs. "You can change in the private bathroom over there."

She thanks her and goes into the room to get changed, when she returns Susie has removed the sheet from Elizabeth's body. Even from a distance she can already see how grisly it looks.

"Doctor Pike did the preliminarily examination, and established the cause of death. Heavy blow to the back of the head... He also noted that there is evidence that suggests she fought back, hard to tell though since her hands were so badly mangled."

"I see... This note here says a particle was found on her clothing that you identified as rock climbing rope?"

"That's correct, yes."

"The body was in his custody for several hours, how did he not get to the point of the Y-incision?" Maura puts the folder down and snaps on her gloves.

Susie shook her head and shrugs. "Pike is very slow. In my opinion, he should've been fired a long time ago."

"Let's get started then."

* * *

Back upstairs, Jane walks in the bullpen and asks Frost what he found.

"I got into Judge Collins' phone records. At 6:13 pm, she received a call from a prepaid cell phone."

"That must be the killer. I saw her planner, she seemed like she was going home. That last-minute call is what probably brought her back to her office... Can you track it to where it was bought or where the call came from?"

"Probably not, but I can try."

"Don't forget about that rock climbing event at Shepherd's place." Korsak reminds her.

"Gonna make that call now, actually." Then she groans, realizing she has to put on the fake nice act again. Korsak laughs, knowing exactly why she made that noise. "Yeah? Well why don't you flirt with the guy then?"

Frost cracks up and jokes "He isn't pretty enough!"

He laughs as well and tells him "Shut up, kid."

"Alright... Shush. The phone is ringing." Jane warns.

A woman, most likely his secretary, answers in a polite and friendly tone. "This is the office of District Attorney Brian Shepherd, how can I help you?"

"Hello, this is Sergeant Jane Rizzoli, may I speak with Mr. Shepherd please?"

"One moment..."

The line clicks over, and Jane is greeted by the sleazy lawyer. "Sergeant Rizzoli, what can I do for you?"

"I was calling to apologize about coming over so late last night and my partner being rude to you. We are just trying to find Judge Collins' killer, I hope you understand."

"It's perfectly alright." He dismisses. "With what you showed me, I don't blame you for thinking I did it."

"Anyway, I was wondering about the rock climbing."

"Ah, yes. Your nephew is interested?"

Jane chuckles and says "He's an adventurous little guy."

Shepherd laughs too. "Just like his beautiful Aunt, I bet."

Jane is repulsed and almost gags. Frost and Korsak nearly double over at her grossed out expression. She tosses several pens their way in an effort to shut them up, but that only serves to redden their faces as they try harder to contain their laughter.

She coughs, trying to focus before too much time passes and responds in a sultry tone. "Hmm... Well maybe I will see you tomorrow then? I read it starts around 4."

"Yes it does. I look forward to seeing you there."

"Oh, me too." Jane hangs up and shivers. "Ugh!"

Jane shoots an icy death glare at her partners when they finally let out their laughs. After a few seconds, she couldn't help but laugh too.

"Would you kindly shut up now? I have to make another call."

Their howling dies down quickly and the pair try and catch their breaths. She picks up the phone again and dials a number she knows by heart.

"Hey, Janie. What's up?" The voice on the other end answers.

"Tommy, I got a favor to ask you."

* * *

**So what do you think will happen at this rock climbing event? **

**Will Maura find any evidence? Let's hope so! **

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**You guys are seriously so damn sweet for all the follows and favorites. Reviews make my day too. As always, thank you so so much. :)**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 15

"You're sure TJ will be ok?" Tommy nervously asks his brother and sister.

"I swear on my life he will be watched like a hawk. We won't let anything happen to him."

"Why can't Tommy go with you again?" Lydia was just as worried as her husband, both very protective of their baby boy.

"Too many people might raise suspicion." Frankie explains. "It's highly unlikely anything will happen given that many many people will be there since it's a public event. We just need TJ to help with the cover story."

Lydia wasn't an intimidating person, but her next words sure were. "Make sure you keep my son safe, got it?"

"We will." Jane and Frankie promise at the same time.

The youngest Rizzoli sibling looks at his wife, and the two nod at each other.

Lydia calls out for her son. "TJ, honey... Come out here please."

The 6 year old comes running from his bedroom, still in his Iron Man pajamas. Tommy scoops him up and sits him on his knee.

"Hey, buddy. You wanna go rock climbing with Aunt Jane and Uncle Frankie?"

His eyes light up, and he nearly screams in excitement. "Yeah! Yeah!"

"Let's get you bathed and dressed then so you can go."

TJ follows his mother down the apartment's hallway, bouncing up and down.

"All I have to do is get our suspect alone and see if I can crack him."

Before Tommy has a chance to panic, Frankie jumps in to assure him again. "I'll be by his side the entire time."

From the living room, the three all hear the happy sounds of TJ rushing through his bath. Jane laughed she heard him say "I'm clean now, come on let me out!"

It wasn't until a full 10 minutes later did mother and son finally emerge from down the hall. With a backpack in hand filled with various snacks and other things he might need for the day, TJ was finally ready to go.

* * *

In autopsy, Maura is observing Elizabeth's mangled hands.

"I've never seen such damaged inflicted like that. So much rage behind an attack." Susie comments. The Senior Criminalist didn't have anything to do, so she hung around with Maura, who is enjoying the pleasant company.

"I haven't either. During my work in Africa, I haven't seen anything this brutal." Maura then focuses on the right hand still covered in blood. "I'm starting with this one since it was her dominant hand."

"Sergeant Rizzoli told me you two are in a serious relationship, that's nice. How did you meet?" She politely asks Maura, wanting to make a friendly conversation.

"In Africa, while she was undercover. We sort of just bumped into each other one day and started talking. We clicked right away... What about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah. My boyfriend Alex is a morgue tech here and helps deliver the bodies. Met through work and he asked me out."

"That's sweet. Maybe we could double date sometime."

"That would be great."

Maura squints when she notices something under the nail of the Judge's index finger. "Susie, will you hand me the tweezers please?"

It takes her only a second to retrieve them from the nearby tray, and she hands them to the new medical examiner, who thanks her in response.

She delicately picks under the nail, then holds up the tweezers to reveal a small thin hair between the metal tips.

"I don't think that belongs to our victim." Susie states, since Elizabeth's arm hair was blonde, not black.

Maura puts it under the microscope to analyze. "It appears to be an arm hair...The root ball is still attached. It should be easy to get a DNA profile from this."

"I'll have it tested right away. Great work, Doctor Isles." Susie compliments as she leaves the room with it. She knew Doctor Pike would've never found that hair. Especially considering how small it was and where it stuck under. All he did was state Judge Collins fought back, but he didn't bother checking under her nails. She sighs internally at the thought of how he was never that thorough.

Maura smiles at the nice words, then returns her attention to the body.

* * *

Jane and company arrive at the address Shepherd listed online. The property was huge, Jane estimated it was larger than a dozen acres. On their left, stood a tall mansion. Just one of the many properties the lawyer owned.

"Could this guy have flaunted his cash any more?"

Frankie snorts. "I'm sure he could. He won't get the chance to when he's behind bars. He'll have plenty of money for the prison gift shop."

Her younger brother stops the unmarked in a small lot where other parents and children are walking through.

"You ready?" Frankie looks over at Jane.

"I am!" TJ yells from the backseat.

Jane laughs and shrugs. "I guess we're ready."

The two get out of the car. Jane unbuckles TJ from his car seat and kneels in front of him. "You need to stay with Uncle Frankie and do as he says, ok?"

"I will!"

Jane smiles at his obvious excitement. He hops out of the car and takes his Aunt's hand. Together, the three walk in the same direction as the others. In the distance they could make out a few bright multicolored bounce houses, and a little further ahead were several rock climbing walls.

TJ clutches Jane's hand even tighter, barely refraining from sprinting over there.

The trio wait in a small, but fast moving, line at a sign in table.

One of the employees, wearing a polo shirt with a wacky design on it, notices Jane's badge.

"Are you Sergeant Rizzoli?"

"Yes I am."

The teenage girl smiles at her. "Wonderful... Mr. Shepherd said you might be here. He's busy setting something up but wants to meet with you when he's done. Here's the donation info and forms you need to sign to get this little guy climbing."

Jane quickly writes her signature, and hands over the clipboard along with several bills from her wallet. She made sure beforehand that this was a legitimate charity, and despite the case, she still wanted to donate to a good cause.

"Ok, this looks to be in order. You're good to go, right this way."

They're brought up a grassy hill where several different types of rock climbing walls were. Each ranging from easy to expert skill levels. Since he was still young, TJ started off on the beginner wall.

After he was given a harness, the girl asks "What color helmet do you want?"

"That one!" He points to the bright blue helmet hanging on a hook with several others. It fits snugly on his head with little black hairs sticking out of the back.

"Ok, your climbing buddy will be right with you. Just sit tight."

Jane and Frankie smile and stick their thumbs up, and TJ does the same back. He flashes them that adorable little smile, revealing an empty space where he had recently lost a baby tooth.

Another employee checks the harness and helmet, making sure everything is secure, then introduces himself in a friendly tone. Though it seems forced, like he didn't really have an interest in being there.

"Hi there, I'm Kyle. What's your name little man?"

"TJ..." He shyly replies, which struck Jane as odd. Her nephew was never one to get like that around strangers.

The thought disappears completely when Kyle enthusiastically asks "Alright, TJ. Are you ready to climb?!"

That same grin appears again as Kyle led him directly over to the kiddie wall.

He attaches the rope, securing the clip, and gives TJ basic safety instructions that are easy enough for him to follow. After being given the all clear, he starts climbing. There's a bit of a struggle at first, but his grip strength improves quickly.

As he reaches the 5 foot mark, Jane feels a hand on her back. Too low in her opinion. She doesn't need to turn around to know who it is, already smelling the ridiculously expensive cologne. The urge to break his hand is strong, but the Sergeant resists.

"I was hoping you'd be here." Shepherd smirks, his smile temporarily falters when his eyes land on Frankie. He drops his arm, much to Jane's relief, and greets him but not as warmly as with Jane.

She keeps an eye on TJ while Frankie plays nice. "Sorry about yesterday morning."

Piercing smoky blue eyes soften their intense stare. "Just forget about it."

His attention turns to TJ and he comments "Well, he certainly is a fast one. It takes most children longer to get to that height."

"Yeah, he gets that from his dad."

"Would you step away with me for a moment so we could talk in private?"

Jane glances at Frankie and TJ, then back to Shepherd. She replies "Sure."

He brings his arm around her waist and guides her to a building across the way. The second they enter an empty room, which has pool tables and fully stocked bar, Shepherd steps into Jane's personal space.

"I see the way you look at me." He stares at her like he's a predator and she's his prey. It wasn't in the good way she and Maura hungrily lustfully gazed at one another. This stare was not at all comfortable.

_'Yeah, in your dreams.'_

Jane does her best to fake a smile. "I don't know what you mean."

"I have a room upstairs..." He coyly says while pressing himself up against her.

Jane is pinned to the wall, nowhere to go and has no distractions. She is forced to figure out what to say or do on the spot.

* * *

Maura has moved on to the gaping head wound at this point. Susie comes back in and tells her "There are no hits in any of the databases off the DNA recovered from the arm hair."

"Darn... Hopefully there's more evidence on the body, or Jane has better luck."

"We get 'em, always do." She assures, her voice filled with impenetrable confidence.

Maura moved down to the legs and feet next, which were littered in bruises.

"I don't believe these were caused by the killer. These seem like signs of a struggle... She was at her desk, perhaps she tried kicking her way free." Maura hated to guess, often breaking out in hives if she did. This time the evidence and photos supported her hypothesis, so she fortunately didn't have the reaction.

Maura chuckles internally. _'That would've been embarrassing the first day on the job... Jane would never let me live that one down.'_

"I didn't know her well, but Jane and the others did. From what I understand she was a tough woman. I'm not surprised by the self defense wounds."

"Was she involved in martial arts?"

"I think so... Her and Jane often sparred in the gym a while back. I watched a match once, that was a sight. Both of them were equally impressive in their own way." Susie recalls, Maura listening intently while still performing the autopsy. "Either she knew her attacker and her guard was down, or she was caught by surprise. There's no way she would've went down easily."

This made Maura worry for Jane, but she didn't let it show.

_'I hope Jane has backup when confronting and arresting the killer. This person is extremely dangerous and sounds like a skilled fighter.'_

* * *

Jane clears her throat. "What if I'm involved with someone?"

"Are you?"

She doesn't give him an answer, so he takes that as a no. Thinking she's either shy or just playing hard to get. Either way, he likes it.

"How about just a kiss?"

'Crap crap crap! How am I gonna get out of this? Wait a sec... Please let this work!' Jane silently begs when an idea suddenly pops into her head at, thankfully, just the right moment.

Shepherd leans in but Jane quickly dodges it, his lips wind up on her neck instead and he doesn't seem to mind. He kisses along her slender neck and she groans in disgust when she feels his tongue poke out, a sound he mistakes for arousal. He continues the assault and presses his lower body more forcefully into her hips.

Jane couldn't put up with it anymore and thinks of something to get her out of this.

"I should be getting back to my nephew and brother..."

A brief look of disappointment flashes across his face, but replaces it with a crooked smile. "Yes, we have been in here for a bit. May I see you again?"

"You can count on that." When I slap the cuffs on you, you sick son of a bitch. Jane adds to herself.

He finally steps back, allowing her to breathe again the opens the door for her. "Until next time."

Jane tips her head slightly in acknowledgement and ducks under his arm and out of the building as fast as she can without actually running like she wanted to. When she gets back to Frankie, she sees that TJ is on a different wall now.

The siblings stand together, watching him become a natural before their eyes.

Frankie was still watching him, but notices out of the corner of his eye that Jane had returned. "How'd it go?"

"You don't wanna know."

"Alright, TJ. Slide down now." Kyle instructs, since he reached the top.

He did so, but his foot slips on a rock and looked as if he was going to make a bumpy landing. Kyle stepped in and catches him just in case he hit the wall too hard. TJ's feet struck Kyle's arm and he winces.

"Ah damn it... Careful, pal."

Poor TJ is terrified and starts crying, Jane rushes over to pick him up and soothe his cries.

"I'm really sorry, Kyle. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." He grumbles while running his arm. "It normally wouldn't bother me, but I fell from the wall yesterday when my clip came loose. My arm is a little sore."

"Want me to take a look at it or call a doctor?" Frankie asks, approaching the younger man but a hand is held up to stop him.

"No, thanks. It's just sore is all. A little ice and I'll be fine. I fall all the time."

Jane holds TJ close and suggests "How about we go home, huh?"

His sobs continue, so Jane pulls out what does the trick every time.

"What if we got ice cream on the way?"

He looks at her, the crying magically stops.

"Come on... Where's that smile?" Jane causes the boy in her arms to giggle. "There it is!"

She puts him down to walk, all three wave bye to Kyle, and head back to the car.

To cheer TJ up some more, Frankie puts him on his shoulders while they walk the small distance. He loves being up high, always going on about how he can't wait to get to bigger and taller.

"I don't like that man, Kyle. He was mean looking."

"Yeah, he did seem kind of grouchy didn't he?" Jane agrees with her nephew.

"Maybe someone needs to give home some ice cream and he'll feel better. Mama always gives me a treat after I get a boo boo, it always works for me."

Both Jane and Frankie crack up at his sweet little innocence, even though he has been scared he still wanted to make Kyle feel better.

The middle Rizzoli child takes TJ off his shoulders and opens the car door, buckling him in instead of Jane this time.

"You mind taking him for ice cream yourself? I need you to drop me off at BPD."

Frankie shrugs, not minding spending some quality time with TJ at all. "Sure, is something up?"

"I have something for Maura."

"Evidence?"

Jane frowns in disgust. "Sort of."

He doesn't question her, just turning on the car and driving down the gravel path going past the energetic employees, who waved at them.

Frankie waves back, then shook his head when they were out of sight. "I wonder if they have any idea who they're working for..."

* * *

When they get back to the station, Jane leans through the window to say bye to TJ, and gives him a high-five. "Go enjoy that ice cream, kid... Thanks, Frankie. See you when you get back."

She walks through the green doors of BPD and immediately heads down to Maura's office, where her girlfriend is on the computer going over some results. She looks over her laptop when she hears the familiar sound of boots against the floor and grins behind the screen, happy and relieved to see her love is just as fine as she was when she last saw her.

Jane moves her hair away from her neck and asks "Would you swab my neck for DNA?"

"I'm not even going to ask why."

"What? Thought you might want Shepherd's DNA in case you found some on Elizabeth."

"That's actually what I'm looking at right now." She points to the screen with her pen.

"You found DNA?!"

"Yes, there was an arm hair caught under one of her fingernails. It belongs to a Caucasian male. We ran it through CODIS and NCIC but didn't get a hit."

Jane jumps up and yells victoriously, almost in the same manner of excitement TJ had earlier when asked to go rock climbing.

"Well now you've got something to compare it to."

An hour has passed and Jane impatiently waits for the results while twisting a few strands of her curly hair around her finger.

"That's a sign of sexual frustration..." Maura points out teasingly, with an obvious hint of flirtation. She knows exactly how to get her woman riled up.

"Or tangled hair..." Jane drawls.

"So... Was Brian Shepherd a good kisser?"

"Ha! Oh, yeah. He was amazing."

"Hmm, better than me?" Maura slowly inches closer.

Jane scoffs, a deep chuckle vibrates softly in her throat. "No one can be better than you... At anything."

Just as they lean in and their lips brush, a ping sound alerts Maura of a new email.

"That's the comparison results."

"Does the DNA belong to him?" Jane eagerly asks.

"I didn't even open the email yet." Maura laughs, then moves the mouse an clicks open the new email.

"Oh, right. Ha..." Jane grins sheepishly. "Sorry. I just really wanna get this guy."

Maura pulls up the two sets of DNA and looks at them side by side, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"There are several marker hits."

"So Shepherd's our guy?"

"No... This is a familial match."

"His father died years ago. So it could be a brother or cousin maybe." Jane informs, having memorized his background within such a short amount of time.

"Based on the DNA patterns, I'd say a brother."

"You mind if I use your computer?"

"No, go ahead." Maura moves out of her way and lets Jane use it.

Jane types up Shepherd's name in the system and clicks on the family link, and looks at a few photos on the page.

"Oh shit."

* * *

**No way I would have Jane actually kiss him. Sure she could've refused his advances and pushed him away or something without blowing the mini undercover op, but then how would I have made the season 1 reference and Maura link the DNA to the hair found on the body? :)**

**So Brian Shepherd isn't the killer after all, but who is? What exactly did Jane find? Hmm...**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Loving the response I got from the last chapter. Thank you! Let's see if our team can catch a killer! :D**

* * *

Detectives Without Borders Ch. 16

Jane slams her fist down on Maura's desk, accidentally scaring her and knocking over a cup with some pens and pencils in it.

"Son of a bitch!" She curses, then hurries out of the office, apologizing to Maura on the way out.

The Sergeant repeatedly presses the elevator button, as though it could open the doors faster. Whipping out her cell phone, she speed dials her partner.

"Hey Jane, what-"

She doesn't wait for him to finish. "Get Korsak and meet me outside, now."

Still pressing the up arrow, Jane gets frustrated and decides to take the stairs two at a time. The woman isn't even out of breath when she reaches the sidewalk out front of BPD, where Frost and Korsak just arrived.

"Jane, what's going on?" Frost looks puzzled, she didn't say much on the phone so he wondered why there was a rush to get outside.

"I have an ID on the killer... We need to go."

Korsak opens the passenger door and before he gets in, he asks "Where's Frankie? Shouldn't he come, too?"

"No time to wait, he's bringing TJ home." Jane explains.

Without another word, the team jump in the car and speed off. Jane drives back to Shepherd's place in record time. The event is still going on, but many of the parents are starting to head home at this point. The parking lot is pretty much empty.

They opt out of going in with sirens on and guns blazing so the suspect isn't scared off.

"Where do you think he is?"

Jane gets out the car and discreetly points in the general direction. "Korsak, come with me. Frost, you circle around that way in case he tries to run."

"Right."

Frost walks off further to the side as Jane and Korsak advance on the rock climbing walls, where employees were cleaning up.

The suspect turns around and sees Jane. Smiling, he asks "Hey Sergeant Rizzoli. What are you doing back..."

Kyle trails off when he notices Jane isn't alone. He knows why they're there. The lawyer's brother pushes the helmet and harness rack over and sprints in the opposite direction, with Jane and Korsak following as fast as they could.

The murderer turns the corner at the end of the walls, jumping over another rack, pushing and shoving past several bystanders. Jane runs around it, but Kyle already had a good lead on them. Though he was still in sight.

Frost comes out of nowhere and runs towards Kyle. He closes in on the unsuspecting man and tackles him into the ground, both land roughly.

Kyle gets his bearings first and kicks Frost in the head, his steel tip boot gives the detective a deep cut above his eyebrow. Blood dribbles from it instantly. He tries to get up to resume the chase, but his blurry vision prevents him.

Jane and Korsak had just caught up with them by then.

"Stay with Frost!" Jane yells at the other Sergeant while she continues her speedy pursuit.

He pulls out his radio from his jacket. "All units, we have an officer down. I need an ambulance and back up at..."

Frost waves him off says "I'm fine. Go help Jane, I'll take the radio."

He tosses him the radio and takes off after them, but they are too far ahead for him to catch up easily.

"Kyle! Stop!" Jane yells, but he doesn't listen.

He runs towards a large shed and throws open the door and goes inside just as Jane finally catches up to him.

It's dark. Jane draws her gun and aims it in the near pitch black room, the only light provided was from the ray of sunlight from the door. It shut from the wind and nearly startles her.

All of a sudden, Jane feels someone next to her. But it's too late to react, Kyle barrels into her side. The sweaty two fall into the dirt covered floor, her guns slides across and they scramble after it.

Jane butts her head against his, knocking him back and heard a faint cracking noise. He wipes at his bleeding nose, the dark red blood drips from it profusely.

She crawls after the gun, but is grabbed on her pant leg... Her weapon just out of reach. Jane flips onto her back, ready to swing her fists, but Kyle's strong grip surrounds her throat before she has a chance to.

Jane smacks at his arms while desperately gasping for air she couldn't get. Kyle pulls her head up and smashes it into the wood floor, causing Jane to see stars.

Her arm drops, and in a last ditch effort, she tries reaching for the gun again. Kyle is so blinded in his rage he doesn't notice right away.

Fingertips touch the barrel...

She struggles inching her fingers up just a little further, but manages to get a grip on it. It was then he saw what Jane was trying to do. He takes a hand away from her throat in an effort to stop her from firing.

Kyle grabs it and twists her wrist until the barrel is turned towards Jane head. He smirks evilly when Jane's eyes widen in panic.

* * *

Korsak just barely caught a glimpse of Jane following Kyle into the shed. He pants heavily, very much out of breath.

Just then, the sound of a gun shot coming from inside the shed is heard. He ignores his fatigued state and runs as fast as he possibly can to the grey structure.

He draws his gun and kicks down the door. After maneuvering through some mess caused during the scuffle, Korsak finds Jane and Kyle lying on the floor.

The older Sergeant fears the worst, until Kyle starts screaming in agony. Jane pushes his body off of her and sits up.

The apprehended murderer holds his groin area, where blood seeps through, staining his expensive designer pants. "You shot me in the dick, you fucking bitch! Ahhh!"

"Shut up. You're lucky I didn't blow your freaking head off. It's your own fault anyway."

Korsak holsters his weapon and stretches out his arm to help Jane up. She takes it and rises from the floor, feeling dizzy at first from the bashing she received moments ago.

"How's Frost?" She asks, and brushes dirt off her clothes. Jane growls when she notices a tear in her pant leg.

"He might need some stitches, but he looked ok to me."

"What about me?!" Kyle yells.

Jane gives him a swift but strong kick to his leg. "Shut up... You're under arrest for the murder of Judge Elizabeth Collins, resisting arrest, and the attempt to murder police officers. You also owe me new pants!"

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney..." Korsak begins reading his Miranda rights, and turns him on his stomach so he can cuff his hands behind his back. He groans loudly when stood up.

The two Sergeants bring a limping Kyle Shepherd out of the shed. The ambulance and calvary Frost had called for just arrived. They bring Kyle to one of the ambulances to have him checked on, and a uniformed officer stands guard while he is placed on a gurney to be examined.

Jane walks over to Frost and the EMT who's giving him butterfly stitches.

"You really need to get this properly checked at an emergency room."

"I will, Alice..." Frost promises the friendly and concerned woman. They have seen each other several times, often when she was patching up Jane. It was odd for her since he was never the one to get hurt.

"Hey, partner."

He smirks and replies "Hey back."

"Nice tackle earlier. You looked like a linebacker..." Jane jokes and sits on the back of the ambulance with him.

"Well..." He flexes his arm to show off his muscles. "You know I almost went pro, but chasing criminals is what I love most."

Jane laughs loudly and says "Oh yeah, I'm sure you would've been an all star."

"Damn straight."

"Glad you're alright."

He gasps, feigning shock, but also appreciating her relief at his well being. "Don't tell me Jane Rizzoli is getting soft on me!"

"I did hit my head, maybe that's why." She jokes again while rubbing her head that actually did hurt quite a lot.

Her headache worsens when Brian Shepherd storms over.

"Why are there police all over my property?!"

"That bitch shot me in the nuts!" Kyle yells from a several feet away.

Brian glares at her, any sexual attraction now gone and replaced with a deep seething hate. "What?!"

His glare is nothing compared to the one Jane gives him. "Your brother is under arrest for murdering Elizabeth Collins."

"That's insane."

She hops off the ambulance and shoves him back with a single finger. Jane isn't as tall as him but in this moment he shrunk back, frightened by her ferocity. "No. What's insane is how he violently bludgeoned and tortured an innocent woman for no reason."

Kyle laughs maniacally, the morphine working fast in his body. "It wasn't for no reason!"

"Shut the hell up, Kyle." His brother warns.

"Like you told me to shut up that pretty judge?"

In his rage, Brian yells "Yeah, well I didn't tell you to kill the bitch!"

The second the words came out of his mouth he regrets letting them slip so easily. He inwardly curses himself for making the mistake.

Jane smirks and raises an eyebrow. She turns to another uniform and tells him "Cuff him, too... Brian Shepherd, you are under arrest for conspiracy in the murder of Elizabeth Collins. I strongly suggest you find a better lawyer than yourself."

The rookie cop brings Brian to his squad car, reading him his rights on the way. He accidentally makes the attorney hit his head on the roof of the car as he ducks inside the back.

Jane laughs and warns "Careful, Shepherd." She turns back to her partners and lets out a huge breath. "I don't know about you guys, but I could use a few beers."

* * *

About an hour later, Jane walks into Maura's office to find her nervously pacing around. She turns her head to see Jane's smile, and is very relieved to see her. The blonde rushes over and hugs her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're ok."

Jane rubs her back and holds her head against her shoulder. "I'm so sorry I scared you again."

She had called Maura while on her way back and somehow managed to convince her to stay put and said she would be there soon anyway.

"How's Barry doing?"

"He isn't happy about going to the hospital, but he'll be fine."

"That's good... Here, sit down." Maura takes Jane's hand and urges her to relax on the cozy couch.

As soon as Jane sits down, she brings a hand to her head and winces. Of course, Maura is concerned right away.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing... I'm fine." Jane tries to brush it off, but she already knows Maura won't let it go.

"You don't look fine. What happened?" She asks again.

"I was wrestling with the suspect and... He might have slammedmyheadintothefloor." Jane blurts out in a nervous mumble.

Maura nearly shouts, having caught every word. "What?! Were you checked out by an EMT?"

Jane just gives her an innocent smile, but Maura frowns.

"I take that as a no?" Maura sighs and stands up. "Get up."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm taking you to the emergency room."

"Aw c'mon, I'm fi-"

Maura cuts off her whining. "No, you're not fine. You're exhibiting signs of dizziness and pain. You need to have an X-ray."

"Great! We have one of those here."

She is given a stern look, and Jane pouts. "Fine... Let's go."

Maura grins triumphantly, melting away Jane's anger and reluctance.

"The things I do for you..."

Maura simply rolls her eyes and gives her a little shove. "Keep moving, Rizzoli."

Jane laughs weakly and winces at the pounding and throbbing sensation in her head.

"I hope you didn't drive in this condition."

"Korsak drove." Jane assures honestly, and Maura believes her.

"Good."

* * *

Jane is lying in the hospital bed, incredibly tired and drowsy since being admitted into the emergency room a few hours ago and then going through some testing.

Maura anxiously waits for the doctor to return with the X-ray results. She is fidgeting with the ring on her finger, a habit Jane noticed she did when very nervous and stressed.

"Maur, sweetie? Calm down, I'm gonna be ok." Jane pats a spot on the bed next to her and motions for Maura to sit with her.

She gingerly sits on the bed. "This feels like 6 months ago all over again."

"I know... I'm sorry."

Maura takes one of her hands and rubs her thumb over a scar. "I can't live without you."

"You won't ever have to." Jane swears, and takes Maura's chin by two fingers, bringing their faces closer together. She leans in and captures the soft pink lips against her own in a sweet and tender kiss.

Maura breaks from it with a silly smile on her face. "How do you make me feel so good just by doing that?"

"I can do a lot more with my mouth if you want..." Jane wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

"Mmm... Only if you promise you'll try not to injure yourself further tonight."

"Deal."

Jane's doctor walks in before she can steal another kiss. He lifts his eyes from the clipboard he was reading and introduces himself.

"Good evening, I'm Doctor Wilson."

Jane and Maura quickly introduce themselves.

"Miss Rizzoli, you are a very lucky person. Your skull was slightly cracked but we didn't find any bleeding or other trauma to speak of. Your head will most likely hurt for a while but you're in the clear."

Maura places a hand over her chest and exhales in relief, she had been holding her breath the entire time he had been speaking.

"Does that mean I can go home tonight then?"

He seemed skeptical, but before he said anything Maura says "I'm a doctor, I can watch her."

Doctor Wilson is a little hesitant but replies "Ok... But if there's any nausea or vomiting, bring her back in the ER as soon as possible. Keep her hydrated and no alcohol for at least 24 hours."

Jane makes an unhappy noise and Maura glances at her, giving a look that says "Really?"

Wilson continues "Just take it easy for a few days, maybe a week. That means no work."

Maura squeezes Jane's hand and assures "It won't be so bad."

Jane nods sadly. "Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome. I'll write a prescription for you and in a few minutes a nurse will come in and give you some release forms to sign."

_'I know the drill. I've been in this position plenty of times before'_ She thinks to herself.

"Thank you, again."

Not long after he left, there's a knock on the door. Frost comes walking in, with a fresh bandage on his head.

"What? You weren't gonna visit me? I'm hurt."

Jane laughs and says "Well, I was kinda busy. But I was thinking about maybe stopping by for a minute... If I had the time. You know how busy I am."

"We gotta stop making trips to the hospital or they're gonna have rooms reserved just for us!"

The three of them laugh and definitely agree.

"So how're you feeling?"

Jane shrugs. "Eh... I'm doing ok. How about you?"

"My pretty face won't be scarred."

"Excellent news." Jane sarcastically replies, then sits up more. "Alright. Let's get me discharged."

While Jane was signing forms and getting a prescription, Maura was looking at her X-rays to double check. The injury wasn't at all serious but she still of course wanted to be sure and see for herself.

Outside the front entrance, Frankie has his car parked. He offers to drive them all home.

"I'm gonna ride with Maura." Jane tells him.

"That's fine."

"You know, TJ has a good cop gut. He would make a great detective someday."

Frankie laughs, but agrees. "Maybe, but now his mind is set on being a race car driver. We'll see if his career goals change someday."

Frost hugs them both and says "I'll see you guys later."

After Frankie wishes Jane feels better, the two women say goodnight and walk arm in arm to the blue Prius a few spots away.

"You should be prepared for your mother when we get to the house." Maura warns.

Jane wearily asks "What did you tell her?"

"Just that I took you to get your head checked but not to worry."

"She still will be."

"Well that's what mothers do." Maura chuckles.

Jane slowly gets out the car, and doesn't rush to stand up. Maura is by her side in case she needs assistance in walking.

"You feeling alright?"

"The meds are kicking in... I feel much better actually."

Maura unlocks the door and the two see Angela sitting on the couch. She jumps up at the sound of the door opening and runs over to her girls.

"Oh thank god you're alright!" Angela hugs her daughter, and Jane doesn't squirm away for once.

"I'm fine, Ma. Just a little bump. I'll be out of work a week at the most."

"Is it true? Did you get him?" She whispers, trying to keep her emotions under control.

"Yeah, Ma." Jane confirms with a sad smile. "We got him."

Her mother tears up, but has a smile on her face. "I knew you would, baby." She turns to Maura. "Thank you for staying with her and making sure she actually went to the hospital."

Maura nods, and smiles sweetly. "Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks, honey."

"It's been a rough couple of days, we should all get some sleep." Jane says, rubbing her eyes and suppressing a yawn but fails.

Angela agrees and kisses both of them goodnight. After being assured again that Jane is ok, she goes for the door. On her way out, Jane thanks her for watching Jo Friday for her. She walks over to the guest house, where she has been comfortably spending the last couple of nights.

"Let me take you to bed." Maura says, and Jane gives her a look. "Come on, I want to get you out of those clothes."

She leads Jane into her master bedroom.

"I heard sex helps with headaches... That true?"

Maura removes both of their shirts in a flash and says "I know whether it's true or not, but why don't you find out for yourself?"

* * *

4 days later, Jane and Frost are back at work together. Her and the team are going over the case.

The evidence against the Shepherd brothers is too much. Between the DNA found and the accidental confessions by both of them, the guilty verdict is definite.

Brian only wanted Elizabeth to be severely hurt, but didn't anticipate for his brother to lose his temper the way he did, despite knowing about his anger control issues.

It is revealed the motive was good old fashioned revenge, and in fact over all the cases he lost where she was the judge. Kyle had called to tell him what he had done, and that's why Brian was in a rush to leave the building.

"How did Kyle slip past security?" Jane wonders.

"The reason CSRU didn't find any evidence is because Kyle wore gloves, and climbed through the window she had unlocked. People said she always had the window open, so we didn't think anything of it when there wasn't a sign of a break in. The window leads directly to an alley behind the courthouse, which is probably why the janitor Lou didn't see anything. Easy escape route and there aren't cameras back there." Frost explains.

"At least Elizabeth managed to get that arm hair or else we might not have arrested them..." Korsak trails off, hating the possibility of never finding justice for their friend.

"How about the funeral yesterday?" Jane mentions, wanting a slight change in subject. "Beautiful service, but she would've hated all those girly flowers since she was such a tomboy." Jane finishes with a laugh, and the guys join in. They also knew she wouldn't have liked that too much.

"I'm going downstairs to see Maura, I'll be back up in a little." Jane announces, pushing back in her chair and getting up from her desk.

"Take your time." The guys say and wave as she left. They turn on the TV and begin watching. Since they just closed a huge case, both had some free time.

Maura gets off the phone just as Jane walks in. She has great news and knows Jane will be delighted to hear.

"I was just officially given approval to start working full time. Pike has been transferred to somewhere in Western Mass."

"Yes!" Jane happily yells while jumping up and down.

Maura's phone rings again.

"Whoever that it is, tell them you're gonna be busy celebrating tonight!" Jane says, still dancing.

Maura laughs then picks up the phone, greeting the person on the other end. "Oh, hello. I haven't spoken with you in a while... How've you been?"

Silence for about 10 seconds.

The atmosphere shifts, and Jane senses something is wrong. She stops dancing and is at Maura's side in an instant.

Maura's face goes white. She whispers "What?"

She drops the phone and starts crying.

Jane grabs the phone and demands "Who the hell is this and what did you say to Maura?"

"Who is this?" The male voice asks.

"Sergeant Rizzoli, and if you don't tell me who this is and what the hell you said to make my girlfriend cry you're in a world of trouble." She threatens in a growl. Jane was worried for Maura, who sat back in her chair with her hand covering her mouth, chest heaving and sobbing deeply.

"This is Special Agent Gibbs with NCIS. I... I called to tell her that her sister Kate was just killed."

* * *

**Oh no! Kate's been killed... :'(**

**This won't be an official NCIS crossover, but the next couple of chapters will have those characters in them. You don't really need to have seen the show in order to understand some things. Hope you like what's coming up! :D**

**Twitter ~ ProZombieKillr**


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